Missing in Action
by CatChild1
Summary: Sarah finds a book that gets her into some trouble, now the boys have to find her and rescue her before it's too late.
1. Voice Mail Again?

Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side.

I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it.

---

**Missing in Action**

15 days ago…

Sam's voice mail. "Hey Sam. This is Sarah. I know we haven't talked for a while, but I've found something and it's really weird. You know? Your kind of weird. At least I think. I uh … I don't know really. It's probably nothing, don't worry about it. I hope you and Dean are doing well. Bye!" Sarah's voice is hesitant and unsure.

Sarah's voice mail. "Hey Sarah, it's Sam. I'm sorry I missed your call. Dean and I are working a case, but call me back if you need us."

13 days ago…

Sam's voice mail. "Sam, it's Sarah. I really think this is something you guys should check out when you have time. Call me back soon please." Sarah's voice was tense.

12 days ago…

Sarah's voice mail. "Hey Sarah, it's Sam. Is everything ok? Dean and I are still on the case. But we should be wrapping it up soon. Call me back please."

5 days ago…

Sarah's voice mail. "Hey Sarah, it's Sam. Dean and I are about done here and heading your way. Unless we find something we should be there in about three or four days. Is everything ok with you?"

3 days ago…

Sarah's voice mail. "Sarah, it's Sam. I haven't heard from you in a while. Your last voice mail really concerned me. Dean and I have stopped off to take care of a small haunting, but it shouldn't take long. Maybe a couple of days. See you in a week? Please call me. I'm getting a little worried."

Yesterday…

Sam's voice mail. "Sam! I need your help! They're coming after me I think." Loud crashing and voices are heard in the background. "Sam!" Sarah is out of breath and several sets of running footsteps can be heard. "God I hope your close by, I …" Sara cries out, there's several bangs and a sliding sound.

"No! Leave me alone!" Sarah's voice is in the background now. She screams, but it's suddenly muffled. More scuffling is heard, then footsteps. Some footsteps are getting farther away, one set is getting louder. There's a loud crunch and the call ends.


	2. Interesting Find

_Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it._

---

15 days ago…

Sarah knew that she shouldn't call Sam since he might be on a case, but it'd been several weeks since she'd last spoken with him and the item she'd found gave her the creeps enough to pick up the phone and dial his number. However, she didn't hit the send button. Instead, she closed her phone and continued rummaging through the items the truck had unloaded in their back storage room.

A week earlier an old woman had died with no apparent heirs to come claim her belongings. The state ordered the auction, so here everything was, in the back to be itemized, categorized, and eventually sold in one of her father's "private showings" first, followed shortly thereafter by a public auction out front. He hated having just anyone walk through the auction house. She giggled lightly to herself as she thought about inviting Sam and Dean back for the private auction just so she could see her dad's reaction when they walked through the door.

There was a lot of antique furniture and décor that had been brought over. But this one particular chest had items that just didn't fit with everything else. The first thing she'd seen when she opened it was a black satin cloth. It was dusty and had no designs at all. Pulling back the cloth she uncovered items of a cult nature. Spending time with Dean and Sam had shown her that some things were said to be evil, but were in fact protective, like the pentagram. However, the items she was looking at right now gave her a sickening feeling.

There was a football sized figurine of some type of devil from the looks of it -- horned head, bat-like wings, fangs, and a very hateful expression on its face. It was in a squat looking down at nothing, its clawed hands resting at the wrist on its knees. This is what was giving her that sickening sensation. She put it to the side and continued to look at the items in the chest.

Several old and melted black and red candles were stuck to an interesting looking knife. The blade had designs and inscriptions etched into it and appeared to be a little rusty near the base. The handle was some type of black snake-like skin or designed leather. It was old and appeared to be cracking in a couple of places, but they were very small cracks. There were also various powders and herbs without labels. This whole thing really gave her the creeps. She pulled out her phone and called Sam.

She dialed the number and waited as it rang and eventually rolled over to his voice mail. She felt silly. There was probably nothing at all about this stuff. Maybe the old woman use to dabble and just boxed it up when she stopped. Sarah just couldn't get the odd feeling off her mind. She told Sam not to worry about, wished them well, and hung up the phone. "Sam's probably going to think I'm a nut when he hears that."

---

_Sarah is running down a tunnel, splashing through water. She's scared. There's a chanting sound off in the distance, but getting louder as she runs toward the end. She enters a large room with a lot of black candles burning all around the walls. A group of 10 or 15 people in black robes is on their knees chanting. Another person stood facing an alter filled with candles, a bowl, and other objects she couldn't see from where she was standing. On a pillar against the far wall on the other side of the alter from her was the statue she'd found in the chest._

_The person at the alter held up a large knife that resembled the one she'd found, but she couldn't be sure. The chanting was getting louder and louder. A crying or whimpering could be heard mixed in with the chanting. The person at the alter turned around, but the hood of the robe completely shadowed out the face. Based on the body structure, she believed this was a man. He was still holding up the knife and the crying got louder. It seemed more like a muffled yelling. _

_The chanting stopped and the muffled yelling became a muffled shriek as the man stabbed something with the knife. She couldn't see because of the other people in the room._

Sarah woke up in a cold sweat. Her heart was pounding and racing a mile a minute.

---

13 days ago…

Sarah's heart would not slow down and she couldn't shake the fear she'd felt even though it didn't appear she was in danger during the dream. She got up and took a hot shower hoping that it would help her relax, which it did, a little.

She arrived at the auction house as the sun's light began brightening the sky. She went to the back to finish up the itemizing of the old woman's estate. All the items had been separated and organized, and anything that was considered trash had been thrown out in the dumpster. The jars of powders and herbs had ended up there along with some broken pieces of furniture that were not repairable. She picked up the chest and moved it to the table. It sounded like something moved inside it. She'd taken everything out of it and opened the chest to make sure. Nothing was in it. She picked it up and shook it lightly from side to side. Something was definitely sliding inside. Opening it again, she ran her hand over each of the sides and the bottom. At one point she felt a slight indention that she could hook her finger on. Pulling, the bottom of the box came out to reveal the rest of the contents.

It was a book. It was a very old and worn book with leather bound covers. She couldn't understand the writings, but the pages looked old and everything was written in a red or black ink. Probably with a calligraphy pen based on the way the characters looked.

As she flipped through the pages looking at the words and drawings, she knew she had to call Sam again. This time she said it was definitely something for them to look at. Her dad walked in, so she quickly got off the phone and hid the book under the cushion of her chair.

"Dad? You're here awful early. Is everything ok?"

"Yes. Is everything ready from Ms. Montague's estate? We need to get it out front before the auction begins." Mr. Blake was never one for emotion, except disdain or annoyance sometimes, when it came to his auctions. He called out for the guys that he'd hired to do the moving and they began taking items out, placing them where Mr. Blake instructed.

Sarah quickly grabbed the book and her purse. "I'll be back a little later," she said over her shoulder to her dad as she walked out. She drove back to her house and pulled out the phone book, going through the business sections for occult shops. Grabbing a spiral notebook and pen from her desk, she wrote down the addresses for each, picked up the book, her purse, and headed out the door.

---

The first few shops Sarah visited were simple and supplied various supplies required for rituals and learning. But none of the books had anything like the one she'd found in the chest. She was extremely hesitant to actually speak to anyone about the book and she left it in her car each time she went into a shop. This next shop that she'd come in to was quite different. The name itself made her smile, "Supernatural Supplies and Books." There was a section that provided supplies, but there was a much larger section that had books. A glass and metal security door separated another room with other books that appeared much older and, she guessed, much more valuable.

She took a chance and walked up to the young lady working behind the counter. "Hi. I'm trying to find out a little information about an old book that I found. It looks like some of the ones you have behind that door," she gestures towards the security door in the book section. "Would it be possible for me to look at those books?"

"Uh, I have to ask the owner of the shop. He doesn't let many people back in there. Give me just a second," she hopped off her stool and headed up a small staircase off on the side of the room.

Sarah looked around again and noticed the security camera in the corner near the front door. Looking around the room she saw three other cameras pointing in various directions. She was pretty sure that together they saw anything that went on there.

Two sets of footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. The young lady returned with an older gentleman that immediately sent shivers up her spine and made her stomach turn a flip or two. He was actually quite handsome and walked with an air of confidence that almost reminded her of a Sean Connery or James Bond movie. As he looked her over, she felt her face blush slightly.

"I'm Phillip Culver, the owner of this store. How can I help you, Ms…?"

"Sarah," she smiled as she took his hand, "Sarah Blake." She could still feel that stupid blush on her face, so she quickly averted her eyes and released his hand. "I was interested in possibly looking at some of the books you have in the locked room, there." She nodded towards the door.

"Ah. That is a very special collection of old books. You have a special interest in the ancient religious practices and histories?" His voice was oddly seductive and terrifying all at the same time and it sent a funny vibration up her spine.

"No, I … uh … I found something and I'm … doing some research." What in the world was up with this guy that made her so nervous?

"Research, eh? Are you a student then or is this just personal curiosity?" He smiled and cocked his head slightly to the right.

"Personal." She couldn't help but smile back.

"Well, then. I'd be happy to provide access to those books, but unfortunately I only show them during specific appointments. Those are usually after normal business hours. I don't want just anyone having access to them. They are very important and valuable. Would you like to return this evening around 7 o'clock?"

Without hesitation, "Certainly." As she walked out the door and climbed into the car she couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't hesitated.


	3. Really Creepy Dreams

_Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it._

---

Sarah returned to her house and began photocopying several pages from the old book. She pulled out a spiral notebook and wrote down the name of the shop and owner. On her computer, she typed in several of the phrases and searched for their meanings. It was Latin and some of the lines scared her.

Before she knew it, the clock downstairs was chiming six times. She took the book and quickly put it in the bottom of her china cabinet with some cook books. In the bathroom she attempted to make herself look decent. She was pale and her mouth was dry. Whatever that old woman had been in to, it was really dark and scared the hell out of Sarah.

Mr. Culver unlocked and opened the door for her, stepping back so she could enter. "Welcome back, Miss Blake." He closed and locked the door behind her. She suddenly felt extremely nervous. "Follow me please," he walked to the other door and unlocked it. Inside there was a small table and two chairs. "Now, what exactly are you looking for? I know each book in this room and can help you find whatever it is you need." His smile seemed genuine and he maintained a place on the opposite side of the table from her.

"I'm looking for books that might provide information regarding old rituals." She pulled out the copies she'd made and placed them on the table. "I did some research to determine what some of the phrases meant. It's pretty creepy stuff. I didn't realize that people actually did this, I mean … I know some of the histories of some of the religions, but I … I never really knew that they used these types of rituals."

Mr. Culver glanced over the pages slowly and carefully. His face appeared taunt and slightly pale. "These are incredible, though I wish you had not used a photocopier. You might damage the writings." He turned and looked at the bookshelves around him. Walking over to one shelf, he pulled out an old leather-bound book about the same size as the one she had found. He stepped to stand beside her and placed the book on the table in font of her. The writing inside it was the same calligraphy style and the first few pages in the beginning were the same. "This first section is an incantation that was used in most of these books. It basically says that only the true owner can use the book and anyone else attempting to use it will have everything backfire in a very unpleasant way. Only the true owner can pass it to the next one."

Sarah listened to him explain what each of the pages she had meant, some of which she had figured out by translating the actual words. As he stood beside her with the book showing her the pages and illustrations, she noticed he had a strange scent to him. It wasn't any particular cologne she recognized, but perhaps a mixture of several. She remembered it from one of the other shops that was burning multiple incenses on a table dedicated to a particular deity.

"So, tell me. Where is this book that you have? I would be very interested in reviewing it, perhaps even buying it from you." He turned his head towards her, as he spoke, but his body remained facing the table. She was starting to relax a bit. Maybe this guy wasn't so creepy after all.

"Unfortunately, it's not mine. But I really appreciate everything you've shown me this evening." She glances down at her watch and realizes that it's going on 10 o'clock. It shocked her; she didn't think they'd talked that long. "I should really go; I didn't realize it was so late." She gathered the papers from the table and turned to leave.

He touched her elbow, didn't grab it, just touched it gently underneath. It was enough to make her stop and turn back towards him. "I would really like to know more about this book, Sarah. Can you tell me who owns it?" His hand was still there, just touching her elbow, but he was now facing her and his blue eyes were concentrating on hers. She hadn't bothered to really look into his eyes until now. They were deep, inviting, and controlling all at the same time. She caught herself before she actually told him the truth, blinked, and said, "I'm sorry Mr. Culver. I can't just pass around names. But I will definitely pass on your interest in the book." She took a deep breath as she headed for the front door.

The lock on the door was a deadbolt that required a key on both sides. Fear took her breath and she turned around. He was right behind her. All kinds of thoughts ran through her mind, most of how stupid she had just been to allow herself to get locked in a store with a strange man. However, he passed by her, unlocked the door, opened it, and then stepped back to provide her more than enough room to exit. "Thank for stopping by Miss Blake. I hope to see you again sometime." His smile was pleasant and she returned it a little hesitantly as she walked out the door bidding him a good night.

---

_Sara was standing in a large room with a black ornate table large enough for six to eight people to sit comfortably around it. There were two chairs, one at each end. A candelabrum sat in the middle of the table with long black tapered candles burning in it. The room was large enough that the candlelight caused the walls to be shadowed. There was a crystal wine glass with red wine at one end and the chair was pulled out slightly. _

"_Welcome, Sarah. I'm glad you could join me." It was Mr. Culver's voice. Sarah turned around completely but didn't see him. As she completed her turn she suddenly felt him behind her. His warm breath was on the back of her neck and she stood trembling. He had that same scent of various incense all mixed into one, but it was still pleasant. Her hands were clasped together at her chest, and she could feel his hands resting under her elbows as he had in the store. The pressure was so gentle as he steered her towards the chair and yet it was as if he had taken her by the arms or shoulders and moved her there himself. "Please sit and join me for a drink," he whispered softly at the back of her left ear. The warm breath caused a shiver to ripple down her back._

_She moved to sit in the chair. A ringing sound off in the distance sounded a little familiar, but her attention was on the glass of wine in front of her. She could still feel him behind her and realized that she hadn't really looked at him yet. She started to turn around, but his warm breath was at her ear again, "it's an excellent wine, I'm sure you will enjoy it." The ringing sound came again as she reached down and picked up the drink._

12 days ago…

She woke from her dream with a start as her cell phone rang one last time and rolled over to voice mail.

---

Sarah showered and headed to the auction house. Once she arrived, she went upstairs to the office and started reviewing the paperwork from the previous day. Most of the items from Ms. Montague's estate had sold and the information needed to be submitted to the state. The rest of the items would be sold in a public auction within the next few days.

10 days ago…

Ms. Montague's remaining items were placed neatly on the auction house floor or tables. The auction began around 10 o'clock and was open to the public this time. Normally her father would make it an outside auction, but there weren't enough items left in her estate to require it. Everything went smoothly. Sarah and her father wondered around the floor speaking to various individuals and answering questions. Mr. Blake preferred silent auctions to the rambling of individual sales auctions, but if the rest of Ms. Montague's belongings weren't sold today, they would need to do one.

By the time the auction ended at 4 o'clock, the remainder of the items had been sold. Most of it was to various antique stores in the area and surrounding counties. As she was completing the paperwork later in the evening, it surprised her to see that the statue and weird knife had actually sold. They sold to the Supernatural Supplies and Books store. Sarah had been in the auction house all day, but never remembered seeing Phillip Culver or the young lady that had been working behind the desk a couple of days ago.

When Sarah got home she glanced over at the china cabinet. Remembering the book, she walked over and opened the door. She pulled out the book and went over to her computer. She started to flip through the pages of the book when a knock came from her door. Tucking the book quickly into one of her desk drawers, she went to see who it was.

He stood on her porch dressed in a casual business suit. Sarah inhaled sharply and hesitated to open the door. The knock sounded again and she jumped in her skin. After several more heartbeats, Sarah took a deep breath and opened the door. "Mr. Culver?"

"Phillip. Please, call me Phillip." He smiled sweetly and did a quick, small bow. "May I call you Sarah?"

"Uh … sure. But, what are you doing here?" Sarah was trying to keep the fear out of her voice and hoped that it'd come across as simple curiosity.

"Well, after you left the other day, I realized that your last name 'Blake' sounded very familiar. So I looked it up and found that your father owns the auction house."

Still trying to remain calm, she smiled, "but you're at my house, Phillip."

"True and I'm very sorry. I've obviously upset you. I was hoping to find out more about the book we were discussing. Unfortunately it wasn't available for purchase, wasn't for sale to start with, or it's already been sold. So, I found you in the phone book and thought I would check with you again." His voice was soft and his eyes mesmerizing as he spoke. He gave her a sensation of trust and fear all at the same time. But Sarah still wasn't comfortable enough to step from the doorway or ask him to enter.

"I haven't had an opportunity to talk to the owner," she didn't normally lie and technically she hadn't talked to the owner since the owner was dead, but she was still lying and hoped that it didn't show on her face.

"Well, I apologize for disturbing you this evening. Please have a good night." He smiled again, did his little nod and partial bow then turned and headed for his car. Sarah watched as he got in his car and drove away. She didn't close her door until after he was completely out of sight and then she closed the door, locked it, and then quickly set her alarm.

Picking up the book, she quickly locked it into her wall safe that was tucked behind a portrait of her family. Something was really creeping her out about the book and Phillip, but she still wasn't sure that she wanted to actually give the book to him. Something intrigued her and scared the hell out of her all at the same time about this man. She decided to get some sleep and try to move it to the back of her mind until she could decide. After all, she was supposed to sell everything at the auction and she kept the book out of the logs. She was committing fraud and needed to be very careful.

She thought about calling Sam again, but decided against it. After all, he had left a message that he would be finishing up his job soon. Maybe he'll call again once he's done and she'd tell him about it then. In the mean time, she curled up under the covers and tried to clear her mind until she finally fell asleep.


	4. Missing

_Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it._

---

5 days ago…

_Sarah was in the large room, the long black table, burning candles in the candelabrum, two chairs, and the glass of wine. She waited a moment, not turning around, but knowing that he was in there, somewhere in the shadows. After a short while she felt the warm breath on the back of her neck, then behind her left ear, "sit and join me for a drink?" his voice whispered softly. The incense smell was there, but there was something different in the tone of voice. It was soft and seductive, but a hint of agitation maybe?_

She'd had this dream for almost a week now. Always waking as she went to actually take a drink. Her alarm made sure of that. The voice, she thought was Phillip Culver at first, but as it became more agitated the less it sounded like him. Tonight seemed a little different. She really needed to do something with that book; these dreams were giving her the creeps. Though she kept wondering what would happen if just went ahead and took the drink, not like anything can happen to her for real while she's in a dream, right?

_The hands on her elbows did not touch her as lightly as it had for the past week. They were holding her a little tighter, but they guided her to the chair as before. She sat down as always and reached for the glass of wine. "It's a very nice wine, please sip and enjoy." Something felt different. Music began playing in the background as she raised the glass to her lips. She hesitated expecting to wake up but she just sat there looking at the wine. "Sip and enjoy Sarah," the voice whispered behind her with a slight edge to it. "It's a good wine and I'd love for you to join me in a glass." _

_This night was definitely different. This time, a figure moved around from the back of her chair and walked towards the end of the table. She could still hear the music far off in the background. The figure was in a black hooded robe. Once he reached the end, he picked up a glass of wine that had appeared. His face was shadowed and she suddenly remembered the first dream she'd had after finding the statue in the chest. Fear suddenly gripped her stomach and she tried to stand but she couldn't move._

"_You have something that we'd like to get." The hooded figure began walking back towards her with his glass of wine. "Please drink with me. We'll toast our new found friendship." He tapped his glass against hers and raised his into the shadows of his hood. _

_Sarah found that she could move but had no interest in drinking the wine. She began looking around the room for a doorway to leave, but saw only shadows around her. "You know, it's rude to not drink when a toast has been presented." There seems to be a threatening undertone to the voice now. "I'd hate to think that you were a rude guest when so far it's been so pleasant seeing you." A ringing sound off in the distance caught her attention. The hooded figured sighed, "so many interruptions when we're together. But I don't think they should be allowed to disturb us this time. Do you?"_

_Sarah knew that her alarm had sounded but stopped already. There was no music to be heard anymore. Strange at how only a few moments in here took away over an hour. The ringing of her cell phone should have woken her up too. She was beginning to panic when she felt a hand on her shoulder. The hooded figure, which she wasn't sure was Phillip anymore, had moved over to her side. "Please don't worry. My intention is not to hurt you." For some reason, his voice wasn't very convincing._

Sarah suddenly wakes with a start, she's being shaken roughly. "Sarah! Sarah, wake up!" She jerks up with a sharp inhale. Her dad is standing over her with an extremely concerned look on his face. "Sarah, you're burning up. Are you ok? We should get you to a doctor. Come on and get up, I'll call and let Dr. Branigan know we're coming in."

---

"It's not like you to be so late without calling me. You had me worried there, Sarah." Her dad was waiting anxiously for her at the front door as she slowly got dressed and ready to head out. Every muscle in her body hurt and she felt like she'd gotten no sleep at all. "Sorry dad, I'm not sure what's wrong with me today." While sitting in the doctor's office, Sarah realized she had voice mail. Checking it quickly, just the sound of Sam's voice and the fact that they were heading her way made her feel a little better. She wanted to call him back, but her head was spinning and she felt so tired. The doctor came into the room and began the typical examination.

She must have dozed off a couple of times while at the doctor's office. Between sticks flatting her tongue, needles taking blood, and X-Rays, she was exhausted and ready to go home. She wanted to call Sam, she wanted Sam to get that book and figure out what the heck was going on.

Her dad took her back home after picking up a couple of prescriptions. "You'll be ok by yourself? I have to get back to the auction house" he asked as they pulled into the driveway. "Of course. It's just the flu. I'll be fine." She smiled as she stepped out of the car. "Don't worry; you don't have to come in. I'm just going to take these meds and get some more rest." Her dad gave her a concerned look, but nodded his agreement and pulled away.

As she reached the door, she realized that it was slightly ajar. Fear swept through her as she stood on her porch looking at the door. There was no sound coming from inside that she could tell. Hesitantly she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Everything was everywhere. She couldn't believe it. Quickly, she picked up the phone and called her father. He wouldn't be too far away yet. She was trembling and having trouble standing, so she went back out onto the porch and sat on one of the steps. It wasn't long before her father pulled back up into the driveway. She was resting her head against one of the posts. All she really wanted was Sam and to know what the hell was going on.

Once the police arrived, they went into the house and made sure it was clear. "Well, duh," she thought to herself, "I've been sitting out here for over ten minutes, I'm sure if someone was still in there I'd have heard them or they would have come out." She was sick and cranky now. Going through the house, she could see that things she considered valuable that a normal thief would have wanted were still there. She walked down the hallway and into each room. The same thing. Finally, she pulled back the picture in the hallway that hid the safe and opened it. Everything, including that book, was there and the safe did not look like it had been tampered with.

Sarah finally had to sit down, her fever was rising and she hadn't taken any of the meds the doctor had prescribed yet. Her father packed her up and took her to his place to stay until she was feeling better.

---

Yesterday…

It took several days for Sarah to push the flu out of her system. At her father's house, she slept well and the housekeeper made sure she drank lots of fluids. Happily, she didn't have that same horrible dream. She finally found her cell phone where her dad had hidden it to make sure she slept. She was disappointed that she'd missed Sam's call and that he wouldn't be coming for a little while longer. She packed up her belongings and headed home. Over the past several days, her father had been working on her house. Well, her father had taken over two of his housekeepers to clean up the place. "Dad can be such a typical rich prude sometimes," she thought to herself and she pulled out of the driveway from her father's house.

Glancing in the rear-view mirror she noticed on several different occasions that a large black car appeared to be following her. She'd even made a couple of stops at the store and post office. She began to worry a little, but pushed it out of her mind. "You're being paranoid," she told herself.

Finally arriving at her house, she was happy to see that everything was picked up and looking very nice. Even if everything wasn't exactly how she liked it, she was grateful for the help in getting it all cleaned up. She picked up her phone and dialed Sam's cell phone. As the phone rings over to voice mail, she hears the loud banging at her door. Fear grips her as it gets louder and sounds more like someone trying to break down her door.

"Sam! I need your help! They're coming after me I think." There is a loud crashing as the front door gives way to the pressures of the two men that now come through it. Sarah starts running down the hallway towards her bedroom. "Get her!" one of them says as they quickly pursue her. "Sam!" Sarah is out of breath and several sets of running footsteps can be heard. "God I hope your close by, I …" Sara cries out, they caught up to her as she entered her bedroom, tripping her and causing her to lose her grip on the phone. It drops and slides across the floor to the other wall.

"No! Leave me alone!" Sarah's cries out as they begin to tie her hands and her feet. She screams in terror, but it's suddenly muffled by the strip of duck tape they've placed over her mouth. They complete their task of tying her. One of the men picks her up and throws her over his shoulder. As he begins to walk out, she watches helplessly as the second walks over and crushes her cell phone.

---

Today…

"Oh my God! Dean! We have to get out of here!" Sam franticly runs through the motel room gathering his things and throwing them into his bag.

"Sam? What's wrong?"

"Sarah's in trouble. I just got a voice mail from her and it sounded like someone or something was attacking her."

Dean begins to quickly gather his belongings and throws them into his bag. "Wait. You said voice mail. When did she leave the message?"

Sam pauses and looks at Dean with a very taunt, pale face and fear in his eyes, "Yesterday."

Dean turns away; he doesn't want Sam to see the look in his eyes. It'll take a day to get there and Sarah was attacked yesterday. He grabs the keys and they leave the motel. Squealing tires several feet, they leave the parking lot and head for Sarah's as fast as the Impala will take them.


	5. Gotta Love Cops

_Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it._

---

"Are you insane!" The voice was strained and angry.

"No. I told you I wanted that book. You were just incapable of getting it for me. So I'll get it myself." The second voice was smooth and controlled.

"But you don't know if it's even the book you've been looking for. I told you I thought it might be. You should have given me more time. You're going to ruin everything."

"Don't be silly. We'll get the book and she'll become another face on the back of a milk carton, never to be seen again. Just like the others."

"The others were runaways and homeless, without anyone to care about whether or not they were alive or dead. This is different. She's known and wealthy. People will miss her and look for her."

"It doesn't matter who looks where, it never does. And if you're overly concerned we could try the re-education process.

There is a sharp intake of breath, "you can't be serious. That never works. You know, sometimes you surprise me. With all your brains, you do some of the most stupid things!" There is a loud smacking sound and everything goes quiet for a few moments.

"Don't ever forget little brother, where everything you have came from. Now feed her and ask her for the book."

"I can't and you know it. Have your goon squad do it; they seemed to have fun tearing up her house and kidnapping her. I'm sure a littler interrogation will suit them just as well. I have to get back. Just remember that I told you in the beginning, you're making a mistake with this one."

Footsteps trail off in two different directions. Sarah just curls up in the corner of the bed placed against the back wall of a small dingy room. She can smell mold and air is damp. Uncontrollable tears run down her cheeks and her only thoughts are repeats of the attack at her house. She has no idea how long she's been sitting there, but it seems like forever.

---

Curled up on the bed, she lost the passage of time. At one point, the two large men that had grabbed her in her home entered the room. Panic swept over her and she cringed in the corner waiting for the interrogation she'd heard the voices talking about. Instead, they sneered at her and put a plate of food and a cup of water down on the floor near the bed and walked back out.

Trying to compose herself, she went to look at the food. It was actually appetizing to look at, the drink was just water, but the food was a deli sandwich and some chips. Unfortunately, the plate and cup were plastic so she couldn't use them for anything else. Not that she really knew what she would have done if they had been made of any other more durable material.

Hesitantly she looked at the sandwich, checking to see what was on it. She was hungry and her stomach was growling viciously at her, but she was afraid. What if they put something in the food or the water? She was starting to get some of her senses back. She'd been so afraid before, so completely terrified. Now, she started to look around her room in hopes of finding a way out.

Everything outside the door was quiet and there was very little light coming from out there. Which didn't help her ability to see what was in the room. She didn't have her own light, so the only way to see was using the light that came under the door and through a small window. Looking out the window she could only see a hallway with small lights receded into the ceiling every so often. She tried to look around her room as best as she could but there wasn't anything to see. Just her bed, the plate of food, and the cup of water. Feeling a growing sensation of dread, she climbed back into the bed, covered up, and tried desperately to fall asleep.

---

"Hurry up Dean," Sam pleaded as Dean attempted to fill up the car with gas.

"I'm going as fast as I can Sam, this thing will only pump the gas so fast." Dean was extremely concerned about Sam as well as Sarah. Sam refused to eat anything and he hadn't said much except for Dean to go faster. Sarah … well, there was no telling what was going on with her. She was attacked and they had no clue what had happened or why. Mr. Blake answered her home phone but would not tell them anything and he rushed to get off the phone because the police were wired to listen in case someone called with a ransom. The fact that she'd been gone for a day and no one had requested a ransom scared them all even more.

Dean finished filling up, quickly paid, and floored the gas as they pulled out of the station.

---

They drove all night and into the morning before they finally reached the auction house. No one was there. Sam suddenly realized that he couldn't remember and Dean had never actually been to Sarah's house. They had no idea where she lived. The auction house was closed and no one answered when they knocked.

Sam was beginning to panic and lose it. Dean knew he had to think of something fast. He was going to suggest county property records but was interrupted as the squad car pulled up with lights flashing…

---

Dean felt a heartbeats worth of panic as the car pulled up with the light flashing and an officer stepped out of the car. The office was cautious and stayed behind his door. Dean could sense his hand resting on his revolver. Sam, still in panic mode just ran towards the cop, must to Dean's surprise and horror. "What the hell are you thinking," is what he wanted to shout, instead he just stood watching and hoping for the best while trying to come up with a way to get out of this.

Sam didn't care it was a cop, he was actually quite glad to see him. He ran up, which caused the man to become extremely tense. Through the window, Sam could see that his hand had moved to his revolver, unsnapped it, and had a good grip ready to pull it from its holster. Sam stopped, "Officer, please, do you know about Sarah?" His voice was pleading and shaky, "she left us a voice mail two days ago and we've been driving non-stop, something's happened to her!"

That caused the office to relax just a bit, but not much. "I'm officer Dunkum, who are you, family?"

"No sir, we're friends of Sarah's. I'm Sam and this is Dean. Please, can you tell us what's happened?" Dean held his breath as his heart jumped. Now he really wanted to smack Sam in the head, how could he just blurt out his name to a cop?

"I'm sorry sir, I can't divulge any information to anyone who is not family. You said she left you a voice mail? Why don't you come with me to the station? The FBI has set up some equipment there and we can analyze that message."

Now Dean was really getting nervous. "We'll follow you there," he finally blurted out in hopes he could get Sam back in the car for a real chewing out. The officer nodded and waiting for Sam to get in their car before getting back into his own. They pulled out of the driveway and headed for the station. All the while the office kept watch in his rear view mirror and Dean argued with Sam.

"Are you completely and totally insane! Not only did you give a cop our names but now you've got us going to the police station too!" Dean knew his brother was scared for Sarah and didn't want to do this, but they couldn't just waltz into the police station with FBI agents all around. "Dean, we gotta find out what happened to her. She said she'd found something that was our kind of weird. What if because I showed her about the painting she started seeing other things that she normally wouldn't?"

"Sammy, don't start the damn 'it's all my fault' crap. You hear me? This taking on the problems of the whole world is getting ridiculous. We showed her the painting and we opened her eyes. Not you." Dean shook his head in frustration. "What are we going to tell the FBI when we get here? What if they try to check us out?"

Sam just lowered his head and sighed. "I don't know. We used Conners as a last name when we were here before. We'll just use it again. Maybe they wont look us up. But if the voice mail helps them find Sarah before … before it's too late, then I'm willing to take the risk."

They both sat in silence the remainder of the trip, lost in their own thoughts. Once they arrived at the station, they parked in the visitor section. Glancing at each other, they took a deep breath. "Here we go," breathed Dean as they got out of the car and headed into the station behind officer Dunkum.

---

Once inside, Dean and Sam sat nervously outside in the waiting room. What seemed like hours passed by when officer Dunkum finally came out and waved for them to follow. Dean watched every movement of every person he could to see if there was any indication that they were about to be arrested. Officer Dunkum led them to an office upstairs and near the back of the station. It was a fairly large and had all kinds of electronic equipment set up.

A man wearing the typical agent suit walked up to them and offered his hand, "I'm Special Agent Ayotte. I've been told by officer Dunkum that you might have information to assist us in the disappearance of Sarah Blake." _The disappearance of…_ echoed through Sam's head.

"So you don't know what's happened or where she is?" Sam's heart sank, but he pulled out the cell phone and dialed in for the messages. The agent watched patiently as he replied, "at this point, no." Sam retrieved the message and handed the phone over. Ayotte took the phone towards the equipment as he listed carefully.

There was another man sitting behind the computer and took the phone from Ayotte. He examined the phone and then went through a case. Pulling out an adapter, he connected Sam's phone with the computer system. They replayed the message as it recorded into the system. This was the first time Dean had actually heard the message and he now understood why Sam was so upset. It didn't sound good. And by the looks on the FBI agents faces, it wasn't good.

Once they completed recording the message, Ayotte brought the phone back to Sam, "thank you for your help. If you'd be so kind as to either wait here in the station for a while or give us your number so we can call you, just in case we need to get some more information." Sam hesitated for just a moment, and then asked for pen and paper. He wrote down his number and handed it to Ayotte, "can you call me when you find her? Please?"

Ayotte looked at the number, smiled a little, and said, "Sure, I can do that."

Dean led the way as they walked out of the police station. Sighing with relief as they reached the car, "we'll find her Sammy. First we need to find out where she lives." Dean drove the Impala to a nearby corner and parked. Sam looked around, "what are you doing?" Dean glanced over and smiled, "waiting for Special Agent Ayotte to leave … so we can follow him."


	6. Picking Up Her Trail

_Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it._

---

Sarah had slept fitfully for a short time during the night. She couldn't be sure how long. They'd taken her watch and everything she'd been carrying or wearing, except her clothes. That she was thankful for. So far they hadn't done anything physically to her, besides tie her up and throw her in a small dark room of course. Which was bad, but certainly wasn't the worst thing they could have done.

She had no idea what time it was or where she was being held. All she knew was that some noise had woken her up. She stayed in the bed and just listened. The sounds of footsteps and talking could be heard far in the distance. She listened for a short while, but they didn't appear to be coming any closer. At least not yet.

After a long while she realized that the footsteps were getting closer. A shadow hid what little light she had coming from the window. Then a flashlight shone into the room and settled on her. She turned over and shielded her eyes, "hello?"

The door opened; unfortunately it wasn't anyone coming to rescue her. It was one of the men coming with some more food and water. He glanced down at the untouched sandwich from the night before, he made a tisk-tisk noise, and then said, "what a waste." He bent down and replaced the sandwich plate with another plate and the cup of water with a cup of what looked like orange juice from where she was sitting. "So, would you like to tell me where that book is?"

Sarah was scared, but she wasn't stupid. However, she had to try to determine exactly how nice this guy was willing to be and judge whether or not she could manipulate the situation in any way to her advantage. Her fear had waned a little and now she was calculating on how to escape. "What book?" She tried to use a soft, scared tone.

He looked her over for a brief moment then smiled lightly, "the book with the Latin writings and drawings of symbols and creatures, of course." He smiled patiently as she stared back doe-eyed. "Come on now. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Why? I mean … why do you want it? Why so badly that you're willing to do this to me?" Sarah was doing her best to keep her composure. She was scared of this guy and the fact that he was being nice was scaring her even more. His eyes were cold even when there was a smile on his face. There was no warmth coming from him.

"You don't need to know why, you just need to know that we wont ask nicely for long." He turned and walked towards the door, looking back at her before he left. "You've only got one thing going for you right now, and he's not going to stand in the way for long. Once the High Priest's patience runs out …" he gave her a grin that sent a shiver up her spine, "well … you just think about that one." He walked out and closed the door behind him. She heard a click as it was locked and then heard his footsteps as he walked down the hallway away from her.

Glancing down she looked at the food they had brought her. Eggs, sausage and toast. Not bad. Her stomach was yelling at her to pick up the food and eat. The orange juice was tempting; her mouth and throat were dry. She hesitated for a few moments more, then picked up the plate and started eating.

---

Dean and Sam waited for a while before Special Agent Ayotte finally left the station and headed out. Dean quickly started the engine and began to follow. It didn't take long before they finally entered a very nice subdivision and were led to her house. There were only three cars, including Ayotte's. Dean stopped at a corner well passed the house and parked.

Sam just sat in the passenger seat quietly, watching Dean as he reached into the back seat and started rummaging through his duffle bag. "What are we really going to do here, Dean? I'm pretty sure they're not going to let us just walk in there and start an investigation of our own."

"Come on Sam. You really need to get out of this funk. If she's still alive … she is still alive, Sam, and we've got to find her and that's not going to happen if you don't concentrate on what we need to do." Dean pulled out the EMF from the duffle bag and stuffed it into his inside jacket pocket. Dean looked at Sam, straight and level, waiting for him to say something, anything.

Sam took a deep breath and looked back towards Sarah's house. "What do you think they're doing in there? And what story are you going to give them to let us in the house?"

Dean smiled back at him. "We're not going to tell them a story. Matter of fact, we're not going to ask them anything at all. If we do this right, we wont even have to talk to them." The smile on his face grew, "let's go Sammy." He opened his door and headed for the house.

Sam looked at him completely puzzled, "what?" and then tried to catch up.

---

Dean and Sam moved to the houses on the same side of the street as Sarah's house. They looked in the back yard of the house two doors down from hers. Dean smiled back at Sam and snickered, "no yorkies back here," then slipped in the gate door. Sam just shook his head and followed.

They stopped at each window to make sure no one was in there that might see them sneaking by. Once they reached the other side, Dean climbed up a little and looked over the fence. Today was their lucky day. There didn't appear to be a dog in the next back yard either. They quickly jumped the fence and headed for Sarah's back yard.

As they snuck by one last window, however, a dog started barking and jumping on the curtain. Cursing, they hurried to the fence and looked over. The backyard appeared quiet and empty. Dean and Sam jumped over as the door opened in the previous house and the dog came running out.

They quickly moved to the first window in Sarah's back yard. The dog next door had come to the fence and was barking. They could hear the owner of it asking what was wrong in one of those silly baby voices that made Dean cringe and shudder. Checking the window, it was unlocked. "Hmm," Dean mumbled as he slid the window open. "What?" Sam whispered in a panicked tone as he watched the owner next door getting closer to the fence. "Nothing, just weird that one of her windows is actually unlocked, I guess."

They quickly slid through the window and into what appeared to be an office. "Well, I guess this is as good a place as any to start," Dean whispered. Sam started looking over the bookshelves and Dean started going through the drawers in the desk.

---

Sarah was grateful for the bathroom breaks they provided. One of the two men that had originally brought her here would come in and escort her down several hallways. She was beginning to get the route memorized. They had to be underground in some type of sewer or maintenance area. It was damp and occasionally she'd get a whiff of something that made her gag, which would always result in an obnoxious chucked from whom ever was escorting her that day.

Today, her heart leapt almost out of her chest. As they were walking down one particular hallway, another hallway branched off to the left. The man behind her had a battery powered florescent lantern and she was positive she saw the rungs of a ladder reflect the light for a second. Now she just had to bide her time to figure out how she would use that information to her advantage.

Once they returned to her room … cell more like it … he asked her again about the book.

"If I did have it and I gave it to you, what would happen?" Sarah asked carefully as she moved to stand near the bed without sitting down on it.

"You don't really want to know that."

"Uh …" she swallowed as fear began to creep up and cause her throat to go dry.

The man started laughing, "I see, you're talking about what happens to you?"

Sarah just nodded slightly.

He laughed a little more, "in that case, we take you out of here. You'll get to breathe the fresh air and feel the sun again." He studied her carefully, "are you ready to tell me where the book is?"

"It's just a book, I don't really understand it and I have no idea why you want it so badly, but I do know that I'd rather be out breathing that fresh air and feeling the sunshine before I hand it over to you. Just in case." Sarah studied him just as carefully as he was studying her.

"Just in case, eh?" He narrowed his eyes and gave her a dangerous smirk, "where's the book?"

---

Dean and Sam looked through what they could in the office. Everything in the office was personal business; mortgage, utilities, and other bills or paperwork. Sam found nothing on the bookshelves that would be out of the ordinary.

Frustrated, they went near the door and listed. There were voices in the other room nearby. Dean cracked the door slightly and looked out. They were in a very small area that opened up into the living room. Directly across from him was the door that led into the garage and to the left was the laundry area. Looking to the right, he could see some of the living room. Mr. Blake was pacing, Special Agent Ayotte was standing near the front door, and someone else was sitting on the couch with a laptop opened in front of him.

Hugging the wall as much as he could, Dean tried to look farter to the left. He could barely make out a long hallway that ended in other rooms. "Damn," he whispered lightly as he closed the door. "We need to go back out the window to the other end of the house. There's no way to sneak by them from here." Sam nodded and they headed back out the window. Luckily by now, the dog next door was quiet.

As they moved along the wall of the house, they came to the back porch area where double doors led into the dining room area. Sam looked through the door, but couldn't see anyone. The dining room was separated by a wall and slatted wooden door. Sam glanced back at Dean and nodded, then moved quickly to the other end of the house where there was another window. This window was locked. Glancing around the side of the house, Dean could see a small window higher up that looked open. Moving over to it and jumping up a little so he could see clearly inside, he made out the bathroom.

"Sam!" He whispered and then gestured for Sam to come over when he poked his head around the corner. Sam moved up and glanced into the window. The glass was open, so they only needed to move the screen out of the way. It was a small window, but not so small that they couldn't get through it. Making short work of the screened piece, Dean helped Sam go through. Waiting a moment more, Sam finally said, "I can get to the other room, go to that window."

Dean quickly moved back around to the window just as Sam raised it so he could enter. Sliding into the room they took a quick look around. The dresser and closet were empty except for bed linen and blankets. "This must be a spare room," Dean whispered as they moved to open the door. To the right was the bathroom where they had come in, to the left was the hallway that led to the main part of the house, and directly across from them was another door. Sam glanced down the hallway to make sure no one could see and then began moving to the other door when something caught his eye. It was a scratch on the wall.

"What?" Dean whispered impatiently as Sam stopped in the middle of the hallway and blocked the path to the door. "Nothing, just ... the picture is straight, but there's a scratch near the corner." Sam shrugged and just slowly opened the door in front of him. Dean looked at the scratch, then walked into the next room whispering, "maybe during the … you know … fight, it was moved or knocked off." He cringed after saying it, realizing that under normal circumstances it wouldn't be a big deal, but this time was definitely different. "We'll look at it if we don't find anything in here." Sam just glanced at him and Dean silently cursed as he moved to the closet.

Sam started with the dresser. While Dean would have normally made underwear comments, he refrained. He knew this was going to be tough enough on Sam. Dean moved the clothes to the sides so he could look at the floor, ceiling, and walls of the closet. He then checked any pockets that may exist on her outfits. Nothing was there so he began looking through the various items on the upper shelves. But found nothing again.

Sam went through each drawer slowly. He carefully moved the clothes so that they wouldn't appear disturbed and because he didn't want to ruffle them. He could smell her perfume and his heart ached to see her. But nothing was found in the dresser. Finally her turned around and looked under the bed. Pulling out some boxes, he found shoes and photos. As he stood up he noticed that the bed was perfectly made except for a section that was pulled out a little. He didn't think anything of it as he stood and turned to Dean, "I'm not finding anything man. What about you?" Dean turned around from the closet, "nothing here either."

Glancing back down, Sam decided to look, so he reached down and pulled up the mattress. Tucked there was a spiral notebook, which he grabbed before letting the mattress back down. There was no writing on the cover and even though the thought that this might be private ran through his head, it didn't deter him from opening the cover and looking. There were several separate pages lying inside copied from a book and she had written some things in the spiral notebook itself. Sam sat down on the bed and started looking at the copies, "hey Dean, come look at these," he whispered.

Dean moved over and looked at the pages Sam was studying. "They're in Latin and from what I can tell they appear to be summoning spells for some pretty mean creatures," Sam whispered as he gave Dean a worried look. "But they don't completely make sense, at least not what I've got here." He glanced in the spiral notebook, "but she did write the name of a few places and a person in this book." He passed the notebook to Dean. Looking at the information, he glances at Sam, "well, it's a start. Let's get going."


	7. Rescue Plan A

_Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it._

---

At first Sarah thought she could just tough it out and wait until an opportunity presented itself while she was being escorted to the bathroom again. It just didn't seem like it was going to be her day though. The man continued to smirk at her and she could feel herself losing her cool. As brave and defiant as she wanted to be, what she saw next was just enough to break it.

He had never turned his back on her, so she didn't realize that he was carrying such a big knife until he pulled it from its sheath secured to his belt on his back. Her body instinctively jerked as she took a step backwards into the wall. This was no ghost with a razor and Sam was who knows where, but not here to help her. "Where's the book?" he growled in a low whisper.

"You're crazy, it's just a book!" She couldn't go anywhere and she knew it. She certainly didn't care about this book enough to want to get hurt over it, she didn't even know why it was so important. "It's at my house," she finally blurted out.

He smiled and sighed in what Sarah thought was disappointment, "where in your house?"

"In the safe." Sarah was still clinging to the wall.

"We didn't see a safe in your house," his smiled faded and he studied her closely.

"It's hidden behind a picture, if you let me go…" she caught her breath as he moved towards her with the knife.

"Let you go? So you can run off and cause problems for us? No, my dear, we're going to confirm the safe information. Now tell me which picture it's behind." He moved towards her threateningly, "now Sarah."

---

The people in the first couple of stores recognized Sarah, but didn't know anything about the book pages they have copied. The third store, Supernatural Supplies and Books, made them both chuckle and shake their heads. The woman behind the counter recognized Sarah as well and let them know that she had come back for a private meeting with the owner to talk about the books he has locked in his private collection room. She told them that Sarah was suppose to come back that night, and as far as she knew the meeting took place, but that she hadn't seen Sarah since earlier in that day when they first met.

Unfortunately, the owner of the shop was not in and wouldn't be in for a few days. He'd told her yesterday that he was going out of town for a few days for vacation. Dean and Sam thanked her and left to stand by the car. "Well this sucks out loud," Dean mumbled as he stood thinking. Sam had an extremely concerned look on his face and was staring down the road at nothing in particular, "we could try to find out where the owner lives and check out his place?"

"Not a bad idea," Dean said as he climbed into the car and waited for Sam to join him. Once Sam was in, Dead headed for the county clerk's office. Sam waited in the car while Dean went in and performed his magic to get the information. After a while Dean came back out with the papers indicating the property owned by Mr. Phillip Culver. Quickly, Dean started the car and pulled away towards the nearest coffee shop. They didn't even leave the car when the arrived, Sam just pulled out his laptop and made the wireless connection from the parking space. After a few moments more, Sam had the directions and Dean was on the road again.

---

Sarah told the man exactly where he needed to go and which picture to look for, but she refused to give him the combination. She wanted to be the one to get it; she wanted to have a way out of this situation. It wasn't until he went through with his threat and actually cut her several times that she relented and gave him the combination. He left the room and Sarah was left bleeding on the floor in the corner of the room next to the bed. She was using the sheet from the bed to try to stem the flow of blood, tears streaming down her face.

Eventually she stopped the bleeding and lay down on the bed continuing to cry. As she drifted off to sleep her thoughts were on Sam. "Where are you Sam," she breathed as she closed her eyes.

---

Sarah woke with a start when she heard angry voices coming from down the hallway.

"You did what? Oh my God, what were you thinking?" The voice was angry and loud, but not yelling.

"I did what I had to do to get the information your brother demanded. She's fine and he's happy. That's all I need to know." It was the voice of the man who had hurt her earlier. "There is a problem though," the voice continued, "there are people at her house, most likely FBI."

She had no idea how long she'd slept but it had been long enough for him to get to her house and back. She heard cursing and footsteps coming towards her. She quickly covered up again and pretended that she was still asleep.

The shadow appeared over her window and a flashlight was shown in on her. She continued to breathe as normally as she could and didn't move. "Get her something to eat and drink. Bring bandages and anti-biotic ointment for her wounds. Don't harm her again, do you understand?"

"Unless your brother says otherwise, I'll do what you've asked. But you know as well as I do that he runs this show." Sarah heard the footsteps drifting off as they walked away.

---

As Dean and Sam neared the house they realized that the houses were farther apart from each other, huge fences separated the land from the rest of the world, more landscape separated the house from the start of the driveways, and security cameras could be seen at some of the front gates. Unfortunately, the property that went along with Phillip's address was just like those. "Bet he's got big dogs too," Sam smirked, then sighed heavily, "what's the plan?"

Dean looked at the fence and the camera at the driveway gate as they drove by and up the street a little ways. It was starting to get dark. "We'll drive around until it's completely dark. Then we'll come back and do some looking around."

---

Once it was dark, Dean parked the car up the street near an electrical structure that was off the road. They went to the trunk and looked. "What do you think we need to take?" Sam asked. Dean thought for a moment, "probably just a couple of handguns," he said as he handed Sam one and tucked one in his jacket. He closed the trunk and they headed for the house.

They hugged the fences, most of which were smooth brick. One was half brick on the bottom and iron on the top. They ducked low and moved to the driveway. Dean watched the camera closely. It was pointed at the drive area between the fence and street. The red light blinked for a little bit and then went dark. It stayed dark for about a minute and then blinked for about another minute. Getting the rhythm down, he waited for it to go dark and again, then signed for Sam to follow him as he ran across the driveway to the other side.

As they were turning the corner of Phillips property, Dean saw the car coming up the road. Looking around quickly, there was no place for them to hide without jumping the fence. Just as panic was about to set in, the car slowed down and pulled into Phillip's driveway. After a brief pause, they heard the gate being opened. Quickly Dean headed for the driveway and watched the camera. The light was blinking … the gate opened all the way and the car drove through. The light was still blinking as the gate began to close. Dean continued to watch, the gate was almost closed when the camera stopped blinking. Dean grabbed Sam's sleeve and ran for the gate. Dean ran through and Sam almost got caught, but turned sideways as the gate closed and locked in place.

"Well, at least we know that someone's home now," Dean breathed as they stood with their backs to the fence off to the side of the driveway. Dean was looking for any other cameras or the sounds of dogs. When he didn't see any immediately in the area, they began moving through the shadows towards the house.

The house was fairly well lit. Dean scanned the walls and windows of the house from the safety of the shadows and found each of the external cameras. "This is going to be really tough Sammy." Dean frowned as he watched the red blinking lights on each of the cameras. "At least they're using cameras that we can see when they are and aren't looking at us." They moved towards the side of the house, where they saw a large window into the kitchen. A large man was in there pulling things out of a small bag. From the looks of it, he was getting ready to eat dinner. "You figure that's Phillip?" Sam asked in a soft whisper, "he's pretty big." Dean just turned to Sam and smirked, "the bigger they are …" and let his voice trail off.

Dean looked at the side door that also appeared to lead into the kitchen. It had the standard dead bolt and door knob. There was also a camera above it. Dean could see what appeared to be a control panel on the wall inside the kitchen area and assumed it was the alarm. There were no lights on it and Dean silently prayed that Phillip wouldn't turn it on as he walked by. He finished putting the food on a paper plate and fixed a cup of water from the sink using a plastic cup. Dean frowned, "that's odd." "What?" Sam whispered, "what's wrong?"

Dean watched as the man walked out of the kitchen past the control box without turning it on. Dean smiled, "good he didn't turn on the alarm, but what was weird was that he used a paper plate and a plastic cup." Sam gave him a confused look, "maybe he didn't want to do dishes …" Sam paused then stiffened, "… or maybe he's got Sarah in there!" Dean had to practically drag Sam to the ground to make him stop moving forward, "Wait a minute," Dean whispered harshly, "just wait. We're going in there, but you've got to go slow. We need to move carefully around the cameras and probably need to pick the lock on that door. Now wait and follow my lead. Get your picks ready." Dean took a deep breath and turned to watch the cameras looking for the right time.

---

Sam watched Dean intently waiting for his signal. As soon as Dean started to move, Sam was right on his heals. They reached the door and Sam quickly picked the lock so they could enter the house. Once inside, they quickly and quietly closed the door and locked it back. They stood inside the kitchen listening for anything that might indicate someone heard them or was coming towards them. Everything was quiet. They started moving quietly in the direction they'd seen Phillip go. As they entered the next room, it was dark but there was enough light from the kitchen and the hallway to see that it was empty. They moved through the room towards the hall but froze when they heard voices.

"I've got her dinner like you asked."

"Good, what about the bandages and cleaning supplies for the wounds?" This caused Sam to tense violently and Dean almost thought he was going to burst forward and attack anything that might be there no matter what it was. Sam didn't though; instead he looked at Dean with pleading and angry eyes. Dean just motioned for him to wait and tried to do the same himself. He knew how Sam felt and wanted to do the same, but they needed to find out exactly where Sarah was and how many other people were in the house.

"Yes, sir. I've got everything you asked for and I'm heading down there now."

"Good. I'll come down a little later to check on her. I've got to speak with my brother first." A few footsteps are heard then, "hey, what about the book?"

"Oh, I swung back by the house again, but still couldn't get it. Those people were still there. We'll try to figure out a way to get them out of the house later."

"Ok." The footsteps start again. Luckily, none are heading in their direction. One walks up the stairs and the other into the distance.

"I think we're using up all our good karma tonight here Sammy. Lets just hope we don't use it all before we get Sarah." Dean smirked back, but Sam wasn't smiling. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were sparkling from the tears that Dean knew were there but Sam wasn't letting them out. "Hang on Sam, we're going to get her." They moved to the hallway, it was now empty. At the end of the hallway was the main door to the house. A staircase went up on the left. Sam carefully opened the door under the staircase, but there were just boxes stacked in the small space. Walking softly down the hallway they came to the beginning of the staircase and could see two different rooms off to the left and right. The right appeared to be a library. They moved to the left and entered a large living room type area furnished similarly to the first room they'd entered. "Sheesh, how many couches and lounge rooms does this guy need," Dean whispered tersely.

There was another door at the back of this room that opened up to stairs going down into a basement. They slowly walked down testing each step to make sure it didn't squeak or creak beneath them. At the bottom, they could clearly make out the entire basement using the lighting coming from three different lights receded into the ceiling. In the back corner was another door. This door was heavier and had two locks. As they opened it the hinges squealed lightly but Dean stopped and moved the door open slower. Once opened, they descended down more steps … several flights of stairs.

---

Sarah stayed in the bed curled in the fetal position not wanting to move. She had been cut on her forearms and her collar just below the neck. As he'd raised the knife to her face threatening her cheeks and eyes, she had told him what he wanted to know. The wounds still throbbed as she lay there and burned if she moved. So she just lay there as still as she could.

Eventually she heard the footsteps coming back. Fear made her tremble and the tears began welling in her eyes again. She sobbed a little as the click sounded and her door opened. She could hear the footsteps coming up behind her, but refused to turn over. She heard movement but wasn't exactly sure what he was doing. Then a voice sounded near the door, "hey."

"What?"

"I'm heading to her house, you coming with me?"

She heard the man behind her move to the door, close it, and lock it. She then heard their voices as they walked down the hallway. "No, I've got to take care of her …" the voice was cold and became too soft for her to hear anymore. Her imagination took over and it was enough for her to break down into complete and uncontrollable sobs.

---

"Where the hell are we going? Is this some kind of freaky bomb shelter?" Dean whispered sarcastically. They could hear sounds echoing down the hallway so they quickly moved until it ended in a T intersection. Listening softly, Dean determined the sounds were coming from the right. As they moved down the corridor it began to change, "this looks like it's turning into a sewer tunnel or something," Sam whispered lightly. "Yeah, only much cleaner," Dean sneered, "I guess they even have maids for this area in the rich hills." Dean's humor died as they heard footsteps and talking heading back towards them.

Quickly they ducked into one of the small side tunnels that was dark, trying not to splash the small trail of water that was flowing by. "Overflow," Sam whispered softly, "these must be overflow for heavy rains." They grew silent as two individuals walked to the T intersection and stopped.

"Alright, but be careful. If you get caught you know what will happen."

"Yeah, I know. Be back in a bit." He headed down the hallway towards the house. The other man no longer had the food or water with him. He watched a moment as the other walked down the hall, then turned and headed back the way he'd come.

"She must be nearby, maybe," Dean whispered, "he's already dropped off dinner." They quietly moved out from their hiding and headed down the hallway behind him. As they came to another corner that opened up into a small room with the hallway continuing on the other side, and they saw him stopped by a table. He was stacking bandages and peroxide. Sam couldn't take it, he charged. Dean didn't move fast enough to stop him and the guy heard Sam coming.

Luckily, the guy didn't know it was someone attacking him, so when he turned his look changed to one of surprise as Sam slammed into him. Unfortunately this guy was big and strong. After the initial shock had worn off, even after several strong hits in the face from Sam, the guy was able to give Sam a punch strong enough to knock him completely down. But Dean was right there to step in and take over, starting with a strong kick. Between the two of them, they were able to make short work of the man. Quickly they headed down the hallway until they could hear the sobs. There were a few doors and they looked in each until they came to one where they could barely make out a form curled up tight under the covers.

Quickly he opened the door and move towards the bed. They could hear her sobbing, so without thinking Sam immediately ran to her side and grabbed her. All he wanted to do was pull her close and hold her.

---

Sarah heard the footsteps coming back and just curled up as much as she could. The door opened and she prepared for the worst. As soon as she felt the hands on her she couldn't take it anymore and she screamed as loud as she could. She tried to get away, even if it was just to the corner, she just wanted to get away from this man and his knife. It was not until she heard his voice that reality truly sunk in.

"Sarah! Sarah!" Sam cried as she screamed and tried to get away from him. "Sarah, it's me, Sam!"

---

It took a moment more before she finally caught her breath enough to realize that it really was Sam and it was Dean standing over near the door. She grabbed Sam in a hug that nearly took his breath away, but hissed and drew back slightly as the pain shot up her arms. She bit her lip and hugged him again ignoring it. The pain didn't mean anything now.

Sam couldn't help but let a couple of tears roll down his cheeks as he looked at her huddled in the corner. He could see the blood on her sleeves and chest from the wounds. It didn't help much when she did realize it was Sam, grabbed him, but then jerked back from the pain. As she grabbed a hold of him again like a child clinging desperately to a parent about to leave her behind, Sam let several more tears fall. The more she sobbed the angrier he became.

"Sam, we need to get out of here. I'll be surprised if no one heard those screams." Dean's insides were twisting in knots. He could see the blood from the doorway. The room was dark, but with the door open, enough light shown through to make it clear. Dean wanted blood himself, to go back to the man on the floor in the other room and just beat him until he stopped breathing, but he knew he had to get them out of here first. "Sam, come on!"

Sam carefully but tightly held Sarah and moved off the bed. She was shaking and still clinging to him, but she'd stopped sobbing at least. "Come on, let's get out of here," Sam said softly as he steered her towards the door. Her head and face were pressed against his chest and both arms were wrapped tightly around him.

Dean heard yelling down the hallway, someone had found the man they'd beaten up. "Damn," Dean cursed, "they know we're here." Dean pulled his gun and pointed it down the hallway.

"Wait," Sarah whispered then tried to clear her voice. "There's a ladder, I saw it, back this way." She shuddered as she tried to regain her composure and indicated down the other hallway.

"Go, go!" Dean urged as he followed them. As they reached a corner, Dean saw two men come down from the other hallway, "hurry!" Dean fired once down the hallway towards the men in hopes that it would deter them from following too quickly.

They followed Sarah's instructions until they reached the ladder. Looking up, it looked like a circular cover above them. Sam headed up the ladder in order to open it. The two men following them came around a corner and Dean fired again. Unfortunately, they had weapons of their own and returned fire. "Hurry up, Sam!" Dean called up to Sam, who was over half way up the ladder.

Dean heard voices coming from the other way and saw lights heading towards him. "Sarah, start climbing the ladder, now!" Dean urged.

"You can't get out of here, so I suggest you drop your weapon," a man's voice called down the hallway. The lights were getting closer from the other end, so Dean fired a high shot down towards them. The lights scattered momentarily. Dean hugged the wall watching as Sam reached the top of the ladder and struggled with the cover. Dean fired again down the original hallway but had to drop into a crouch as a gunshot came from the other direction.

Sam got the cover moved, so Dean grabbed the ladder and started climbing. Sarah was climbing slowly, still shaking from her ordeal and cringing from the wounds on her arms. Dean could hear someone yell and then footsteps running down the hallway. A shot rang out from below, ricocheting up the ladder area. Sarah was barely missed, but it was enough to make her cry out and lose her grip. She started to fall back but was able to grab the ladder again after sliding down several rungs. However, she hit Dean in the process, knocking him completely off the ladder.

---

Sam was at the top of the ladder and had moved the cover out of the way when the gun shot sounded and the bullet ricocheted past him. A quick prayer of thanks ran through his mind a moment before he heard Sarah cry out. Fear gripped him as he watched her fall a short distance. His relief that she caught herself was short lived as he saw she'd run into Dean, causing him to fall back down into a group of people. "Dean!" he shouted and started to climb back down.

"Get out of here, both of you!" Dean yelled up to them, but the men around him were shining their lights up the ladder and a voice yelled up, "I strongly recommend you come back down here or he," the flashlight was pointed at Dean, "wont live another minute." Dean tried to fight, punching and pushing, in hopes of giving Sam time to get away, but there were too many around him.

"Both of you come back down now," the man's voice was tense and threatening. Sarah looked from Sam to Dean and then back again. Tears were coming down her face and she wanted so desperately to climb out and run, but she couldn't let anything happen to Dean. If not for her friendship with him, then definitely for the love she had for Sam. She couldn't bear to be the cause of pain for either of them, so she slowly started down the ladder.

Sam hesitated only a moment before he replaced the cover and slowly began working his way down the ladder. He'd heard Dean still fighting for a short time, but now everything was quiet below. Once he reached the bottom, he found Dean unconscious on the floor. Sam was quickly grabbed by a couple of men. He struggled to stay next to Sarah. They were all dressed in robes with the hoods pulled back. Some were pretty old and stood in the back. "Separate them, different rooms, now!"

Sarah was being held by one of the two men that had originally kidnapped her, but not the man who had cut her. She was trying to fight the pain in her arms as he held them in his grip. He'd held them tight and may her inhale sharply and whimper, but once he'd heard that his grip had loosened a little. She was thankful that he was at least a little compassionate in that respect. When Sam jumped off the ladder near her she'd wanted to move to him, but the man wouldn't let her. Sam had moved a little towards her, but was grabbed by two men.

After giving the order to take them all to separate rooms, Sarah realized who'd said that. "Phillip?" Sarah glared at him. Sam looked from her to the man she was talking to. This was not the man they'd followed in from the kitchen or who had apparently cut her up, but it didn't matter, he was giving the orders and that made him as much an enemy to take down as the rest of the people in the hallway holding them.

Phillip just flushed and turned away from her walking down the hallway back the way they'd run. Dean was drug by a couple of guys holding him up under his arms, dragging his feet behind them. Sarah was forced to keep pace just a short distance behind Dean but she couldn't hear Sam, who had been behind her. She started to worry, "Sam?" The man shook her lightly telling her to hush … Sam didn't respond.

They put Sarah back in her original room, Dean in one next to her, but she didn't see where they'd taken Sam.


	8. Do We Have A Plan B?

_Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it._

---

Sam was taken down the hallway where they had found the ladder. It opened into a huge room that looked like a central point for the various spillways to come together and then flow down a larger main tunnel down below. They were standing on a large platform that overlooked the spillway below. Black candles lined the railing and back wall. The right wall had a couple of doors with more black candles between them. An alter had been put together near the back wall and a pedestal behind the alter against the wall had a strange statue that he couldn't make out from his distance.

He was pushed into one of the rooms on the right. He was searched thoroughly, they took his gun and wrist knife, then tied him to a chair that they brought in. Most of the men in the robes were older and left the room, hovering just outside the door whispering amongst themselves. Sam waited, unsure exactly what was going to happen, "where's Sarah?" he called out to them, "Where's Dean?" They looked his way, but said nothing to him.

After a while he heard footsteps and angry voices coming down the hallway. As they entered the larger room, Sam noticed the robed men bowing and backing away. Two men walked in, one was Phillip and the other Sam had not seen before. "Where's Sarah and Dean?" Sam demanded as the new man began circling around him, examining him, sizing him up.

"You should be worrying about yourself right now, Sam. Wasn't that your name? And the other guy is Dean, and our lovely female guest is Sarah. Right?" He paused and watched Sam's taunt face for a moment. "You can call me High Priest Damien. Now, Sarah was kind enough, well after some light persuading, to tell us where the book is and how to get it, unfortunately, there are cops at her home. You're going to get it for us."

Sam glared at Damien, "I'm not helping you."

Damien struck Sam with the back of his gloved hand hard and smiled as Sam's eye began to swell slightly, "of course you are. You will get the book and you will bring it back here. Let us just cut out all the huffing and heroics, shall we? I have two people that you obviously care about. Otherwise, you'd never have climbed back down that ladder. Right? Now I can threaten them with death, but I want you to think about the fact that there are worse things than death. Especially for Sarah."

Sam's face flushed with his anger and he fought against the ropes that tied him securely to the chair, "I'll kill you if you lay another hand on her!" Damien just watched and smiled with satisfaction when Sam's shoulders finally slumped slightly as the realization that he couldn't do anything sank in. At least he couldn't do anything yet. Damien turned towards Phillip, "have Carl go with him to make sure nothing goes wrong and get everyone else packing. After we have the book, I'm sure our guests will be more than happy to tell the cops everything." Damien walked out the door with Phillip, "it's time to move anyway. We've been here too long and become complacent."

Sam watched them from his tied position as they spoke out in the candle-lit area, Phillip look horrified. "You've got to be kidding me? My bookstore, my home, you just want me to pack up and move?" Damien just smiled, "remember who gave you those things? We do what our master asks and he rewards us. Everything you have now, you'll get again if you follow instructions like a good boy." Phillip stiffened at the condescending tone that Damien used but said nothing. Damien turned as the larger guy that had taken Sarah away came around the corner, "Carl, I have something I need for you to do."

Damien walked back into the room with Sam and Carl followed. "Carl, you're going to escort Sam to Sarah's house in the morning. You'll do your check-in every 15 minutes. If anything happens and you don't check in," Damien let his gaze fall on Sam, "then the other two will be removed from the equation," he turned back to Carl, "and we will leave here without you. Understand?" Carl nodded.

Carl untied Sam from the chair keeping a careful eye on him. "Get up," he barked. Sam stood up and looked out the door. There were still several people out there, including Damien and Phillip. Carl took the chair out of the room and closed the door, locking it. Sam was left alone in the empty room.

---

Sam went to the small window and looked out. The room still had multiple people milling about talking amongst themselves. He picked out Damien and Phillip near the alter and Carl was standing a few steps away from his door. Sam didn't recognize anyone else. He turned back to examine the room he was in but it was completely empty. He silently cursed as he tried to listen out the window again to pick up anything he could from the group in the other room.

Dean found himself on a flimsy bed in a dark room, similar to the one they'd found Sarah in. His head was pounding and his ribs hurt. He struggled to his feet and looked around the room. "Sam?" He moved over to the door and yelled out the small window, "Sam? Sarah?"

After a moment of silence he finally heard Sarah's voice, "I'm here Dean, back in the same room I was earlier. I don't know where Sam is, though." Her voice cracked slightly with fear so she cleared her throat, "I don't think they brought him this way with us."

"Son of a …" Dean let his voice trail off as he began examining the contents of the room he was in. Unfortunately the only thing in the room was the bed. He quickly moved to the bed and turned it on its side. Examining the metal slats that ran horizontally and vertically, but were welded at the frame. The frame however was attached to the legs of the bed with heavy screws. He quickly checked his pocked and wrist for anything he could use, but they had taken everything from him. "Damn it! … Next time I'm just going to shoot them all."

---

Sam paced around the room for a long time before heard the click of door being unlocked. The door swung open and Carl stood on the outside, "come on," he said gruffly. As same neared the doorway, Carl stepped back and drew a pistol, "no funny stuff either. I'm not in the mood." Sam just snorted and walked in the direction Carl had indicated. It seemed they were going back towards the house, and it was confirmed when they passed by the two rooms that held Dean and Sarah.

Dean was trying to bend the slats in the bed to weaken and break them when he heard the footsteps coming down the hallway again. Several people had passed by over the course of time that he'd been stuck in the room. Sarah was quiet and Dean had been trying to find a way to get out. He stood up and went to the window to make sure no one looked in to see what he'd done to the bed so far. "Sam!" His relief at seeing Sam was short lived; Sam's black eye and man holding the gun to him took it away in a heartbeat.

"Dean! Are you ok?" Sam tried to pause, but Carl just pushed him forward with the barrel of the gun. "Sam! Hey! Where are you taking him?" Dean yelled, but got no response. "Keep going, we don't have time for idle chit chat," Carl growled to Sam as he prodded him in the back. They continued down the hallway until they entered the small enlarged area where the other guy they had beaten up earlier sat in a chair. "You doing better Ande?" Carl said as they started walking past. Ande lowered the ice pack and sneered, "I'll be doing much better when you come back with him." Sam didn't miss the threatening tone or the wicked light in his eye as they turned the corner and left Ande behind them.

---

Sam and Carl left the tunnels and the house the same way they entered. Carl indicated which car Sam was to get into the driver's seat and tossed him the keys as they both sat in their respective seats. Carl still held the gun, resting it on his thigh, but pointing it at Sam. "Let's go Sammy," Carl smirked, "and I strongly recommend you follow proper traffic laws. If we get pulled over I might forget to check in on time." Carl pulled out his cell phone and make a quick call, "we're about to leave the driveway, next contact in 15 minutes." He closed the phone and put it back in his pocket, waved at a camera, and turned back to Sam, "move it."

Sam started the car and pulled down the driveway to the gate. It swung easily open as he arrived. He pulled out onto the street and headed towards Sarah's. "So what story are you going to hand the FBI guys when we get to Sarah's house?" Sam ventured while escape ideas were trying to form in his mind as he drove.

Carl just looked over at him and smiled, "Exactly what were you two thinking when you broke in and tried to rescue her anyway?"

Sam frowned but didn't respond immediately. "Based on what you did to her, do you really think that I believe you will just let us go after you get the book?"

"Don't get all martyr on me there Sammy boy. If I don't make the calls you know what will happen to your friends. Besides, everything's going to work out just fine, you'll see," Carl smirked as he watched the road making sure Sam went in the right direction.

---

Dean continued to work at the slats trying to break one off, but he just couldn't bend it enough to make it weaken and break. He didn't know how much time had passed, but the fact that Sam had been taken away scared him. He'd heard nothing since the two of them had passed by. Even Sarah was quiet. Dean was exhausted. He had no idea what time it was but he felt like he'd been awake for a week. Turning his bed back upright, he laid down hoping to get a little sleep to refresh himself.

Sarah had fallen asleep herself. Her wounds were not deep and she scowled at herself for crying like a baby, but then she'd never actually been kidnapped or tortured before. She'd faced the little girl's ghost, which was scary enough, but these people weren't ghosts to be beaten with iron and salt. These were real people, real men, who could very easily do horrible things to her. She slept fitfully and dreamt of Sam and that last kiss goodbye before he and his brother had left her.


	9. Anyone Have Plan B Yet?

_Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it._

---

Carl instructed Sam to park in the driveway behind the two cars already there. Carl took the gun and slid it into the back of his belt and covered it with his shirt. He then took out his phone and made his next check-in letting whoever was on the line know they had just arrived at Sarah's house. Sam thought about attacking him and trying to take him down or get the gun, but there was no way he would have enough time to get the people inside to believe him and still make it back to save Dean and Sarah.

Instead, they climbed out of the car and went up to the door. "No funny stuff Sam. Just act like you're here to find out about Sarah and keep cool. Get to the safe, get the book and we'll get back to Phillip's house. No trouble, understand?" Carl kept a steady gaze on Sam waiting for his response. Once Sam nodded, Carl jerked his head towards the door, "let's go then."

Sam went up to the door and knocked lightly. After a moment it was opened by a man wearing a suit. Sam recognized him immediately. "Agent Ayotte, nice to see you again," Sam swallowed hared trying to appear relaxed. "Special Agent, actually, but that's ok. How are you doing Sam? And this isn't Dean." Ayotte glances behind Sam to the larger man. Sam coughs lightly, "no, this is a friend of ours, Carl. Dean is back at the motel still." Carl nods his head at the introduction, but says nothing. Sam looks back at Ayotte, "may we come in? We're extremely worried about Sarah and hoping to talk to Mr. Blake and offer our support."

Ayotte turns slightly and they can see Mr. Blake slouched on the couch in the main room. He looks old and tired, not the snooty rich jerk that Sam remembered him to be. Ayotte backs away from the door so Sam and Carl can come in. Mr. Blake sees them and scowls. "What do you want?" he glares as Sam, "I don't think we need art dealers hanging around." Sam coughed lightly, "I'm sorry Mr. Blake; we were worried about Sarah and wanted to know if there was anything we could do to help."

Mr. Blake just sighed and sunk deeper into the couch, "we've heard nothing. No calls, no ransom demands, nothing. These wonderful FBI agents can tell me nothing and have no leads to speak of." Sam moved to the other side of the couch were he could see down the hallway and Carl followed him. Once there, they turned their attention back to Mr. Blake. Ayotte remained near the door watching everyone. Sam shifted nervously, after a short while Sam asked, "would you mind if I used the restroom, please?" Mr. Blake looked up briefly and gestured with his hand, "it's down that hallway at the very end," then turned his gaze back to the phone sitting on the small coffee table in front of him.

Sam nodded and headed down towards it, remembering the picture he'd seen with the scratch on the wall. Carl was watching him out of the corner of his eye while making small talk with Mr. Blake and Ayotte. Sam went to the picture and carefully removed it from the wall. The safe was there. He quickly entered the combination and opened the door slowly. There were papers, small boxes, and the leather-bound book. He reached in and picked up the book, hiding it in his jacket.

Sam quietly closed the safe, replaced the picture, and then went into the bathroom. Carl glanced down the hallway nervously as Sam closed the door lightly. Once inside, Sam knew Carl would be getting really nervous if the door was closed for too long. Looking through the drawers he grabbed one of Sarah's eyeliners, "sorry Sarah," he whispered as he flipped to the back of the book, tearing out a blank page. He jotted down "Carl is one of the kidnappers, HELP! 228 Marigold Lane." Then he quickly began glancing through the pages at the different incantations and rituals. He flushed the toilet and turned on the water as if he were washing his hands as he continued flipping through the book. Most of them were simple spells for love, revenge, and power. One in particular attracted his attention and was marked with a thin piece of cloth; to summon and control a shadow beast. His first thought was of the shadow demons that Meg had attacked them with, but the symbols were different.

Sam quickly put the book back under his arm, hidden in his jacket, folded the piece of paper with the help note, and turned off the water. As he left the bathroom he could see that Carl was nervous and stared at him as he left the room and started walking down the hallway. Coughing lightly, "We'll leave and get out of your way, please let us know if something does come up or we can help in any way," Carl spoke directly to Ayotte as he moved towards the door, glancing back to make sure Sam was following him. Sam only hesitated a moment as he passed Mr. Blake, but said nothing and just followed Carl to the door. Carl held the door for Sam watching his every move. Sam cursed, knowing he couldn't drop the note now because Carl would see it. Sam walked out the door nodding to Ayotte as he left. "Should have written it on the damn mirror," Sam silently scolded himself.

Once they got back in the car and Carl moved to the other side, Sam tossed the note backwards slightly towards Ayotte's car hoping the wind didn't pick up and blow it away. They both got into the car and Carl glanced at his watch, "let's get back on the road to Phillip's house. And give me the book," he snapped as he pulled his gun back out. Sam started the engine, and then passed the book to Carl. As he pulled out of the driveway he glanced over and watched as Carl flipped through the pages. He found the same entry that Sam had, with the cloth marker, and began reading over it. Sam's brows crinkled slightly as he curiously asked, "you can read Latin?" Carl just hummed an "mmmm hmmmm," and kept reading.

Carl made is 15-minute check-in call and let the person on the line know he was only about five minutes away. Sam's palms were starting to sweat as he tried to think about how to get out of this. He feared that if he didn't come up with something, they were all dead. "_How many times did a kidnapper actually let their hostages go without a fight?" _ he thought despairingly to himself.

Carl suddenly looked up at him, "did you read any of this while you were in the bathroom?" The urgent tone caught Sam off-guard and he almost jumped, "a little, I just flipped through the pages to try to see what was so important." The intensity of Carl's stare caused a knot to form in Sam's stomach. Carl continued to stare at him, "did you read the one with the marker? Do you know what it does and what it takes?" Sam wasn't sure if he should tell the truth, but what more could really happen? Sam glanced at him and then back to the road, "I read enough to know that they're going to try to summon something pretty horrible," he spoke more venomently that he had intended, but he was getting to the point where he didn't really care. He needed to find a way to save his brother and Sarah and time was running out.

Carl just nodded and returned to reading the book. As they pulled up to the gate, Carl just waved at the camera once it turned towards them a little and the gates started opening. Sam started formulating a plan, as soon as they were heading back down the stairs he would try to take down Carl. He knew that Dean and Sarah were just a little ways down and around the corner from the entrance. If he could get Carl down and get to Dean, they might be able to get Sarah and get back out to the car. Carl's voice made Sam jump back into focus and what he said startled him so much he almost drove off the driveway and into a nearby tree, "They're going to kill Sarah."

---

"What?" Sam almost screamed as he glared at Carl and hit the breaks. Carl almost looked startled, "don't stop you idiot, they'll suspect something! Keep driving," he snarled. Sam blinked a moment before continuing to the house. "Look, I'm sorry about what's happened to you and your friends; believe me. Typically we don't really care about these idiot rich people who think Satan is really going to give them everything they want if they burn incense and sit on their knees for hours on end. What we do care about is when women go missing without a trace or clues or anything for eight months in a row." Carl took a deep breath and pointed to a spot in the back of the house, "park there and keep your mouth shut."

Sam's jaw must have been on his chest and his face must have been something funny to see. Carl just looked at him and burst into laughter as Sam parked the car. Carl coughed a bit and regained his composure as he stepped out of the car with his gun drawn and the book under his arm. "Come on," he jerked his head towards the house and kept the gun pointed at Sam. Sam's mind was reeling, was Carl a cop of some sort or was he just playing around with him?

As they entered the house, Phillip was waiting in the den area right outside of the kitchen. "Did you get it?" he barked at Carl. "Yes sir," Carl handed him the book. Phillip quickly began flipping through it to the marked page and began reading. Realizing that Carl and Sam were still standing there, he growled, "Take him down to a room by himself. We'll decide what to do in a minute; I need to speak with Damien." Sam stiffened, "you said you were going to let us go," the words were hollow and he knew the answer before Phillip ever responded, "of course we did. Now go Carl." Carl pushed the gun into the back of Sam forcing him to move towards the hallway.

They started down the stairs and Carl made sure the door closed behind him, "keep your mouth shut and give me a minute," Carl whispered as they reached the end of the stairs. Sam hesitated and glanced back at him. "Ande doesn't know about me and isn't going to expect anything, but you've got to keep quiet and wait for me. I know you're itching to do something, _anything_, to get yourself and your friends out of here. Just wait for me. You'll know when, okay?" Carl looked steadily at Sam waiting for an answer; Sam nodded and clenched his jaw. "Good, lets go," Carl pointed down the hallway and Sam started walking again.

As they entered the area that opened up slightly, Ande was still sitting in the same seat, but no longer had the ice pack. When Carl and Sam came in to walk through the room, he stood up. "Let me take him to his room," he huffed and headed towards Sam.


	10. Hesitation Can Be Fatal

_Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it._

---

Ande pulled out his gun and sneered at Sam. Carl stiffened and said, "I don't think so Ande. Instructions were to bring him and the book back to Phillip and I'm pretty sure he meant Sam was supposed to be alive when I brought him back." Ande didn't flinch and didn't back off either, "oh don't worry Carl, he'll still be alive." Carl and Ande glared at each other for a moment before Ande's eyes narrowed, "do you have a problem with this?" Carl shrugged, "nope. But if you kill him, I'll make sure Phillip takes his annoyance out on you and not me."

Ande laughed at Carl, "you're not much of a brute Carl. You couldn't cut the girl and you're not interested in a little exercise with the boy here." Carl just shrugged, "I use it when I need to rather than waste it on unnecessary activities." He waved his hand down the hallway, "after you." Ande grinned and shoved Sam with the point of his gun. Sam started walking down the hall again hoping Dean might have been able to do something to get out of the room he was locked in or maybe Carl would do something before Ande tried to use him as a punching bag.

---

Dean heard voices and jerked awake. He wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep. He jumped to his feet and ran to the door. No one was in the hallway that he could see, but the voices didn't sound too far off. He put his ear towards the window and listened to as much as he could.

Sam turned down the hallway where Dean and Sarah's rooms were. "Sam?" Dean called from his door. Sam tried to pause but Ande shoved him hard enough to almost make him fall, Sam turned to face him, Ande punched at him, but Sam was able to block it. Sam could see Carl on the other side of Ande standing there with a hesitant look on his face. Sam tried to counter punch Ande, but the bigger man easily caught his wrist, pulling his arm back and across turning Sam's body slightly, then punched Sam once in the kidney and then in the jaw causing him to fall. "Sam!" Dean was yelling his name trying to force the door open.

Sam was on the floor with Ande looming over him when suddenly Ande's head jerked back slightly and he stumbled forward. Sam rolled out of the way quickly as Ande hit the ground face first. Looking up, Carl stood with his gun held in his hand like a rock. "Damn it, I'm not ready to blow my cover yet. We have to catch them in the act of actually trying to kill Sarah or all they'll get is a kidnapping wrap. We need to get them on attempted murder and hopefully prove the other murders." Carl offered Sam a hand up. "I've got to take you to your cell. I'll come up with an excuse as to why I hit Ande, but I need you to cooperate." Sam's eyes widened as he gave Carl a "you've got to be crazy" look.

Dean was listening and watching, "Who the hell are you?" Carl turned towards him, "I'm an agent with the FBI. I've been under cover for over five months. This is the first time I've actually been brought down here and privy to their so called services. This is my chance to stop it, but if you guys keep screwing around it's going to break my cover and they'll escape to who knows where." Dean was antsy, "Get me out of here!" Carl shook his head, "I can't. Don't you understand, you have to keep up the pretense that you're stuck or it'll blow the whole deal." Dean growled and punched the door, but he knew that Carl held all the cards and was right anyway. These guys needed to be stopped.

Sarah had woken up and moved to the door. Sam's face was flush and his jaw was clenched, "you can't be serious," he whispered harshly, "there's no way we're staying here when we've got the perfect chance to get away!" Sarah swallowed hard, "it's ok. I'm willing to give it a try." Her eyes were watering but she refused cry anymore, "I want these basts to pay." Sam moved to the door and looked at her through the window, she reached up her hand and he grabbed on to it, "no Sarah, this is too dangerous. We need to get out of here." Sarah shook her head, "we're doing this Sam." She looked over at Carl, "but if you let them kill me I'll haunt you the rest of your days." Sam frowned, that's twice someone he cares for more than life itself had made that horrible joke and it didn't sit well with him this time any more than it had the last time.

After a heartbeat or two of silence Dean cleared his throat, "ok, we'll do it. Carl, you've got to get us some weapons or something though." Carl looked back to Dean, "I'll make sure you're freed in time," he glanced back to Sam, "both of you. Just hang tight and be patient. Their next service is supposed to be tomorrow night." Carl and Sam continued down the hallway. Dean called over to Sarah, "hey Sarah, are you sure you're ok with this?" There was a long pause and Dean wasn't sure she'd heard him, but she finally said, "not really, but I know it's what needs to be done." Dean nodded to himself, "well, get some rest then." After she'd acknowledged his comment, he moved over to his bed and lay down. "iSam is lucky to have a girl like Sarah/i" Dean thought has he cleared his mind and tried to get some sleep himself.

---

It had been quite a long time since Dean had heard Ande cursing and getting up off the floor. He hadn't been able to sleep. His worry for Sam's safety was steadily increasing and threatened to drive him mad if he didn't get some kind of information soon. He paced back and forth across his room, looking out the window into the hallway almost every other trip by the door. He had talked through the doors to Sarah briefly when she called out asking about Sam, but neither of them had heard a thing from anyone.

There had been several instances where people had walked by talking quietly to themselves, but each time Dean looked out his window they had either walked too far away from the window for him to see or it was just the older guys wearing the robes. He hoped desperately that Carl would come back by soon, if only to let him know that Sammy was ok for the moment.

---

They were underground, so there were no windows to let him know what time it was. Carl had dumped him back in that same empty room. Several people came and went from the ritual room outside his door and he watched as they brought items to Damien. Besides the alter at the end of the room, they were starting to set up another one. It was shorter than the main alter but longer. Sam watched as they laid down a black cloth that draped over the new one and set unlit thick black candles at each of the corners. He had seen several alters himself but these two looked different. Damien took a couple of things and told everyone else to leave.

He was trying to figure out what was so weird when someone new entered the room. A small woman, maybe middle age, walked past his door and smiled up to him as she moved to stand near Damien. Sam had never seen her before but there was a strange familiarity that made his stomach turn. Damien turned around and was startled to see her at first; he even started to call for help. Sam heard her make a low and soft "shhhh" noise to him. Damien's eyes widened and he fell to his knees. Sam couldn't see her face or hear what she was telling him. She was whispering too softly.

Sam's stomach continued to turn and he thought if he'd actually had anything to eat he might vomit it up. The woman spoke to Damien for a short while. Damien just nodded and listened intently. Finally, Damien stood up and pulled a case from under the alter; the woman turned and walked back to Sam's door. She smiled up to him, almost lovingly. Her voice was soft and seductive, "Sam, it's nice to finally see you in person." She took a deep breath and almost sighed, "it really has to suck that you can't keep the women in your life alive."

Sam's eyes widened and his breath caught in his chest. She blinked her eyes revealing her true self momentarily before smiling and walking away. Sam hit the door hard, "NO!" he screamed after her. He hit the door again, grabbed the handled and tried to pull with all his strength knowing that it wasn't going to budge. When he looked back out the window he could see Damien packing the alter items into the case. "Damien! Don't do this!"


	11. Losing Everything

_Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it._

---

Damien continued to pack the alter items and Sam continue to try to open the door. Sam's muscles ached and he kept pleading with Damien but Damien just ignored him. Damien turned towards the hallway yelling, "Ande! Carl!" He closed the larger case and pulled out a smaller one that he put the statue from the pedestal in to. Ande entered the room first with quick steps followed shortly by Carl. "Yes sir? I was told you called for us?" Ande asked as he slowed his pace and stopped in the middle of the room, Carl standing quietly behind him.

Damien straightened up and pointed at the cases. "Carl, I need you to take these two and pack them into the van." Carl nodded and began his task. Sam's mind raced, he didn't want to give Carl's position away, but he had to do something. Thinking quickly, he yelled out the window to Damien again, "Please don't kill Sarah, Damien. I don't know what that woman said or offered, but I'll do whatever you want if just leave Sarah alone!" Damien frowned and glared in Sam's direction but said nothing. Carl hesitated a moment looking from Sam to Damien and Ande. He looked back at Sam and continued walking out of the room. As he passed by Sam's window he gave him a half smile and left. Sam took a deep breath and hoped that smile was understanding and intent to help. Out of frustration, Sam hit the door again causing his knuckles to start bleeding.

Damien watched Carl leave. Ande was waiting patiently for his instructions. After Carl left, Damien looked back at Sam. "Sam, I have no idea who you are or what you've done, but I will take great pleasure in making sure you're punished for it." Sam looked out the small window confused, "what are you talking about?" Damien smiled, "apparently you're supposed to suffer." He turned to Ande, "you are to give our lady friend a special meal. One that will be her last. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Ande nodded with a sneer on his face. Damien smiled, "do you know where the poisons are upstairs?" Ande nodded again, "yes sir, but why poisons? Why not just let me take care of her like the others?" Damien shrugged, "that's not what I was told to do. Poison the girl and shoot Dean in the head, but leave Sam to suffer. That's what I was told."

Sam turned and leaned his back up against the door, sliding down until he was sitting. His heart sank, his muscles ached, and the only person that could possibly help him was Carl, who wasn't there and probably didn't know what Ande was about to do. He glanced over at the hinges to the door. They were on the inside, but there was nothing in the room for him to use to help him pull the pins. It didn't matter; he had to do something besides sit there, so he started working at them. Even has his fingers began to bleed from the broken nails, he kept working at the pins; he had to get out of there.

---

Dean was lying on the bed when he heard someone shouting somewhere for Ande and Carl to go see Damien. He got up and looked out the door but didn't see anyone in the hallway. He had a bad feeling and started pacing for a moment. He looked at the bed again. He walked over to it and picked it up at one end, feeling its weight. He judged the distance between the bed and the doorway. A smile slowly formed on his lips as he sat down on the edge of the bed and waited.

---

Carl took the cases out to the van and placed them in the back as he'd been instructed. As he returned to the house he found Ande pulling out food from the refrigerator. "What are you doing?" he asked as he watched him placing all the items on the counter. Ande just shrugged, "he told me to fix the lady some dinner. Phillip is upstairs packing; you should probably go help him." Carl frowned, "we're leaving? I thought something big was happening tomorrow night?" Ande smiled, which alone made the hairs on the back of Carl's neck stand on end, "change of plans, that's all. You have a problem with that?" Ande stared at Carl, judging his reaction, "of course not, just need to know what I should be doing to help." Ande went back to preparing what looked like it was suppose to be a simple sandwich, "well now you know what to do. Go help Phillip."

Carl left the kitchen and headed to the stairs. He glanced in the large rooms on either side of the entryway and then up the stairs. No one was around. He pulled out his cell phone and keyed the familiar number. A moment later, "yes?" a male voice responded. Carl whispered softly into the phone, "this is Carl, they're leaving tonight, probably within the next 30 minutes." There was a pause before the voice said, "Understood. ETA 15 minutes." Carl hung up the phone and headed up the stairs.

Phillip told Carl that he didn't need any help. Carl looked at him as he sat on the edge of his bed. Their bedrooms were huge with plush furniture. Phillip hadn't pulled out any bags and didn't appear like he was packing at all. Carl just shrugged and headed back downstairs. Ande was coming around the corner with the plate of food for Sarah. "Want me to take that to her for you?" Carl asked, "Phillip said he didn't want any help." Ande hesitated a moment, "no, I've got it," he hesitated a moment longer then said, "Actually, why don't you go ahead and take it. She's more likely to eat if you bring it than if I do." He handed Carl the plate of food and water. Carl shrugged and headed down with Ande following behind.

Dean heard them coming and stiffened. He waited as patiently as he could. They glanced in the window but didn't stop. Dean silently cursed to himself, took a deep breath, and tried to relax a little. He listened and heard them go into Sarah's room instead.

Ande looked into the room with the flashlight. After seeing Sarah on the bed in the corner, he opened the door and stepped back so Carl could go in. Carl brought the plate of food and water over to her and set it on the bed. "Hey, are you hungry?" Carl asked Sarah as he set it down. She nodded and gladly accepted the food. Ande was still at the door, so Carl didn't say anything. He just nodded, turned, and headed back out of the room. Ande watched from the doorway with a sneer on his face as Sarah began eating the sandwich.

---

Ande closed the door to Sarah's room and locked it. He then moved over to Dean's door and drew his gun. "What the hell are you doing?" Carl snapped as he moved to stop Ande from opening the door. Ande glared at him, "I'm doing my job, what are you doing?" Carl hesitated, "you can't just walk in there with a gun drawn. This guy is a good fighter, your black eye and bruised ribs aught to tell you that." Ande frowned, "then fine, you go in there and take him down or hold him or whatever so I can do my job." "What exactly is your job?" Carl wasn't moving until he knew exactly what was going on.

Ande stepped back a little and stared at Carl, "I'm taking care of Dean and Sarah as instructed. Now either open the door or get lost." Realization suddenly hit Carl and his stomach knotted. He glanced back at the door to Sarah's room, "the food?" Ande smiled, "yes, and Dean gets a bullet. You have a problem with this?" Carl swallowed hard, trying to think how he could get the upper hand on Ande. He couldn't draw his own gun, not after what he'd just said about Dean. Instead, he looked into the room where Dean was sitting on the bed. Their eyes met and he knew that Dean had heard and understood exactly what was about to happen.

---

Dean listened to their conversation and his heart raced as his adrenaline started kicking into overdrive. They'd just poisoned Sarah and he was going to get shot if he didn't figure a way out of this. He saw Carl look into the window at him. When their eyes met, he nodded his head slightly and grabbed the end of bed, planting his feet firmly.

Carl opened the door and stepped inside the room. Ande followed behind him with his gun down by his side. Carl moved off to the side a little bit, watching Dean, "get up." Dean tensed up a bit but didn't stand immediately. Ande barked, "get up, we're taking you to sit with your friend. I wouldn't want you to miss the show." Dean noticed that Ande's right hand remained behind his hip, obviously hiding the gun. Carl moved closer to the corner, apparently to position himself behind Dean. He pointed towards the door, "go." Dean stood up, keeping his eye on Ande and started walking. From the corner of his eye he saw Carl moving up to get behind him and a wave a fear swept up his spine. In front of him, Ande pulled his hand from his side and pointed the gun at Dean. He stopped in his tracks. Carl came up behind him and he felt the point of a gun in his lower back, "down on your knees Dean."

Dean's mind raced, he wanted to believe that Carl was on his side but it was looking really bad. If Carl was planning on killing him, there was no way he could stop him and Ande both. However, if he was trying to get into a better position to stop Ande, then Dean needed to get out of his way or into a position where he could help Carl. He hesitated until the point of the gun jabbed him in the back and Carl repeated himself, "get down on your knees, now."

Dean started to lower himself to his knees and watched as Ande took another step closer and pointed the gun toward his head. He took a deep breath and instead of going down to his knees, he sprung up at Ande. Catching him off guard, Dean grabbed the hand with the gun and threw his body into Ande's. The initial impact surprised Ande and they both staggered into the wall next to the door. The gunshot was deafening as it echoed through the room and down the hallways.

---

Sam had stopped working at the pin when his fingers had started going numb. He'd stopped looking out the window at the various older guys packing up the candles and candle holders. Occasionally he would yank on the door out of frustration. He refused to give up hope though. Carl would come through. He had to. However, when he heard the gunshot echoing from some far off corridor he lost all hope. He listed for more noises. Struggling, more shots, Dean fighting to rescue him, the panic on the people's faces. But looking out the window all he saw were the guys smiling amongst themselves and silence throughout the rest of the structure. He slid down the wall in despair, letting the tears fall unchecked.


	12. From Bad to Worse

_Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it._

---

Sarah was happy to see Carl, though it made her nervous to see Ande watching her so intently from the doorway. She was starving and glad to see that Carl had brought something to eat. She was anxious to find out what Carl's plan was but understood that he couldn't talk while Ande was there. He left her the food and walked out with Ande closing the door. That smile made her ever more nervous. Her stomach knotted slightly and she swallowed hard, taking a quick drink of the water. At least Carl seemed to be keeping him at bay.

She heard them speaking harshly to each other in the distance but couldn't hear what they were saying. She heard them opening the door to Dean's room and figured they must be giving him something to eat too. She didn't know if the sandwich was just really good or if she was just really hungry. She heard the loud voices again and began to get worried. She started to get up off the bed and head to the door. About half way there she suddenly began to feel very light headed. She tried to take another step but her legs just felt so heavy. Then the gunshot sounded. It echoed down the hallway but seemed almost muffled, like she had cotton in her ear. She tried to turn back to the bed, but her vision clouded and she felt herself falling before everything went dark.

---

The bullet ricocheted from the two walls and hit the bed. Carl put his gun in Ande's face and pulled back the hammer, "don't think for a minute that I wont pull this trigger. Dean, get the sheets from the bed so we can tie him up and gag him." Dean had backed away slightly and was glaring at Ande, "I'd rather just put the bullet in his brain like he wanted to do to me." Carl just shook his head, "can't do that, he may be useful later." Dean nodded and grabbed the sheets. As he moved back over to Ande, he quickly closed the door to make sure no one could see what they were doing.

They first gagged Ande so he couldn't call for help, and then tied his hands and legs. Carl slowly eased the hammer back into position and put the safety back on before returning it to his belt. Carl slowly lowered the gag and glared Ande straight in the eye, "what did you do to Sarah?" Dean had forgotten about her momentarily during the struggle. He inhaled sharply and headed for the door. Carl grabbed his arm, "you can't go out there right now. They think you're dead." Dean blinked, "Sam? What about Sam?" Carl shook his head and looked at Ande, "well, what did you do to Sam and Sarah?"

Dean's heart pounded in his chest. He was desperate to run out to find Sam and check on Sarah. Ande just glared at them. Dean couldn't stand the smirk on his face and back-handed him as hard as he could. Ande fell over on his side with an audible grunt and spit blood. Carl just stood back and waited. Dean pulled Ande back up to his knees and asked again, "what have you done to Sam and Sarah." Ande smiled through blood spattered teeth, "nothing to Sam. At least I haven't done anything to him. Sarah on the other hand is eating her last meal and I'm sorry to say it's going to disagree with her," Ande started laughing and Dean snarled, hitting him again as hard as he could. Ande fell back unconscious. Carl replaced the gag on his mouth and headed for the door, "Alright, you've got to stay here," he offered Ande's gun to Dean.

Dean grabbed the gun but stepped towards the door, "you better think of something else because there's no way in hell I'm staying here." Carl looked at him and their eyes locked. Carl knew that there was no way to convince Dean to stay so he nodded, "hide the gun and act like you're still a captive. At least until we can get into Sarah's room, if anyone's even in the hallways anymore. Most of them have already left." Dean nodded and stepped out into the hallway after Carl opened the door.

Sarah's room was only a few steps away and they were able to enter without anyone even appearing in the hallway. Carl cursed under his breath as they opened the door and saw Sarah lying on the floor. Dean quickly ran to her side, checking her breathing and pulse. Both were very weak. As Dean turned to tell Carl to call someone they heard a large number of footsteps coming down the hallway. Carl stepped back and immediately raised his hands, "woah, woah!"

Multiple voices were telling Carl to raise his hands and get down on his knees. At first Dean began to panic and drew the gun from his belt, but as the heavily armed men with automatic weapons stormed into the room, some continuing down the hallway, Dean quickly dropped the gun and got on his knees by Sarah's body, "please, she's been poisoned!" Dean looked over and Carl was talking to someone explaining that he was an agent and Dean was one of the captives they were trying to rescue. Dean's head was spinning, they cuffed his hands behind his back as someone picked up Sarah, he looked to Carl with pleading eyes as they took him out of the room and down the hallway towards the house. Carl whispered to him as he passed by, "I'll find Sam, don't worry."

Dean was taken out through the house to several black vans. Standing next to one was Special Agent Ayotte. As soon as Dean saw him he yelled, "Ayotte!" Waving to them to stop, Ayotte walked over to where he and the police were standing, "what were you doing in there?" Dean frowned at the condescending tone but his concern was for Sam and Sarah right now, "trying to rescue our friend since it didn't seem like you were doing much good," he spat out the words before he thought about them. Ayotte scowled at him, "you're lucky you didn't get yourselves killed." Ayotte turned to the officer beside Dean, "put him in the van until we can get everyone cleared." Dean started to protest, but was forced up into the van and Ayotte walked away. The last thing Dean saw before they closed the door was the paramedics working on Sarah at an ambulance, CPR, and Dean's heart sank. He just lowered his head and closed his eyes.

---

Sam sat against the wall. He wasn't sobbing, but tears fell unchecked down his face. He didn't care about anything any more. His mind was strangely blank, he wasn't thinking about anything, just staring at a small crack in the concrete floor before him. Even the clicking sound of the door and the light squeal it made as it drifted slowly open didn't stir him.

A soft woman's voice drifted into his thoughts, not really his ears, just his thoughts, "Sam." It was familiar and he remembered her face outside his cell door earlier. Anger began to swell and he turned his head to glare at her, only no one was there. The door was open, but no one stood at it. Sam slowly stood up and opened the door the rest of the way. The room outside was empty. No candles, alters, people … nothing. Sam rubbed his hand across his eyes and face to wipe away the tears and looked around. Then he saw her, she was standing below the landing on the far side of the room.

She smiled up at Sam, then turned and walked casually down one of the water tunnels. Sam face twisted slightly in anger and he ran to the ladder and began climbing down. He could barely see her shadow as he made it across the water, splashing it and soaking his shoes and pants legs. He reached the tunnel but couldn't see her anymore. It didn't matter he was going to find her and kill her with his bare hands. He took off down the tunnel, never hearing the sounds of the FBI and police as they stormed through the complex arresting the men he'd passed a moment before without seeing.

---

Several other men were put in the van with Dean, all handcuffed. Two officers sat at the back of the van and two officers sat in front, one driving and Carl was in the passenger seat. Dean and the other cuffed men were also locked to metal rings connected to the seats to keep them from being able to get up.

"Carl! Come on man, you know I wasn't part of this! Why am I still cuffed back here?" Dean asked once Carl had gotten in the van.

"Because we have to investigate this and make sure your interference wasn't on purpose. You may still be charged with interfering with a criminal investigation." Carl said over his shoulder.

Dean frowned, "what about Sam? Where's Sam?"

Carl shook his head, "he wasn't in the room. They haven't found him yet, but they're still looking. They haven't found Phillip or Damien either. We did find yours and Sam's belongings though. You'll have to explain the weapons."

Dean cursed to himself. "Sam wouldn't just leave without finding out about me or Sarah. He just wouldn't. This means they've taken him now."

Carl glanced back at him, "maybe, or maybe he's running so he won't have to explain the weapons himself."

Dean scowled, "he wouldn't do that, you don't know him so don't presume you can know what he's doing."

Carl smiled slightly, "yeah, most criminals say that about their partners. All I know is that you fowled up a rescue, interfered with my case, allowed the leaders of the group to escape, have firearms and no apparent license to carry them, and now your friend and the leaders of the group are missing. Maybe you were part of their plan to make sure they could escape."

Dean's eyes narrowed, "that would have to mean that you screwed up and blew your cover. Otherwise they wouldn't bother distracting you."

Carl frowned, "maybe. But we'll sort it out down at the station." Carl turned back around as the van was started and they pulled away from the house.

Dean took a deep breath, he wasn't sure he wanted to but he had to know, "what about Sarah?"

Carl's head dropped slightly and he paused longer than Dean liked before he answered, "We … convinced Ande to tell us what he used. The paramedics are taking her to the hospital, but I don't know her condition right now."


	13. Rescue The Rescuer

_Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it._

---

Sam moved through the tunnels having to bend slightly at the waist due to his height. Each time he reached a section where the tunnel split there was always a sign left for him, a shadow down one way or splashing noises he could follow. He knew it was probably a trap, but he didn't care. All he wanted to do was get revenge for Dean's and Sarah's death. He'd lost too many people and if he had to join them in death to get his revenge, he was more than willing.

As he entered another split he heard noises above him. Glancing up he could see that a cover had been moved above. He climbed the ladder and cautiously glanced out. There were buildings on two sides and it appeared that he was exiting the sewers in an alley. He didn't think he'd gone that far, but he was definitely out of the subdivision of houses now. He climbed out and looked around for his next clue. He wasn't disappointed either. There was a doorway opened on the side of one of the buildings down the alley and the woman was standing there smiling at him. As soon as he started to run towards her, she entered the building and closed the door behind her.

Sam opened the door and entered what appeared to be an abandoned office. Paper and a few broken cubicle walls were on the floor. A door opened to his left revealed a stairwell and he heard the footsteps going rapidly up them. He didn't even think twice and began running up the stairs himself.

He went up multiple flights, ending on the fourth floor. The entire floor was open and empty except for her. She was standing on the opposite side smiling at him. He didn't think twice, he ran the length of the room stopping only when he was standing in front of her. His first actions were to punch her in the face twice. However, when she didn't even flinch, his anger began to dwindle, being replaced by a twinge of fear. He stepped back from her and waited for the familiar toss across the room and most likely into one of the walls. Instead she just stood there watching him with an almost warm smile on her face. Similar to the one she had on her face when she was talking to him through the door earlier.

After what seemed forever, she broke the silence, "Sam, it's going to be ok. I know you cared about them, but they can't help you progress any more." Her smile seems eerily genuine, "but I can. I can help you learn and grow into what you were meant to become."

"And what is that?" Sam spat, his anger slowly returning.

"One of us. We're your real family and we've been waiting for you to come home. Dean and Sarah gave you strength and a strong will. We will combine that with training in your abilities so you can become so much more. You will be a formidable warrior for us." Her voice was strangely soothing.

"I'm not going to become some killer for you or anyone else, especially that son of a bitch that killed my mom and Jessica. So you can just go back to hell where you came from and leave me a lone." Sam stepped backwards away from her before turning completely around and heading for the other side of the room. He only made it about half way there when he suddenly couldn't move at all. It was that familiar sensation and he waited, but wasn't thrown anywhere. After a second or two, she walked around in front of him.

She stood very close to him and looked up into his eyes. She was shorter than him and forced him down to his knees keeping her eyes locked on his. That same comforting smile was on her face and her green eyes almost looked compassionate. She placed her hand on his shoulder and bent over, whispering softly in his ear, "the loss of your old family and friends is hard and I can help you work through that. Their loss will make you stronger and the anger you feel will make you powerful." She moved to put her face right next to his, her lips just a hair away from his, "I'm going to take care of you."

"I'm going to kill you," Sam snarled back at her.

"When you are ready to take the final step and become part of this family that will be it." Her smiled turned a little wicked and a sparkle in her eye almost scared Sam more than her words, "you will truly be one of us when you take my life." She stood up, looked at Sam warmly one more time and then hit him with such force that he collapsed onto the ground unconscious. "Come and get him," she called and two men came from a side room and picked up Sam. They all calmly left the building carrying Sam between them.

---

They were stuck in traffic. Apparently some type of accident was completely blocking the road. Carl and the other officers didn't seem to be too concerned. Dean was looking at everything, the seats, people, cuffs, in hopes that he'd be able to find something that would help him escape. If they got him to the station it would be all over. They'd run his prints, find out about his supposed death, and who knows how many crime scenes they might have on file with those finger prints linked to them. He was beginning to panic.

The explosion wasn't so big that the van flipped, but the front end definitely left the ground. The cars to either side of the van rocked and their front tires blew violently. Smoke began filling the van. The officers began yelling orders to the prisoners as they leapt out. The two officers in the back unlocked the chain and pulled it from the rings that held them all in place. Carl and the driver left the van and came around back as the other two officers filed the prisoners out the back of the van.

They were beginning to cuff each prisoner to another and lead them away from the van quickly. Before they could finish a strange canister landed amongst them and began spewing smoke. Dean couldn't breath and his eyes were burning. From what he could tell, everyone else around him was having the same problem. The officers were trying desperately to keep a hand on their five prisoners. Dean was suddenly grabbed roughly and dragged away from the van and smoke.

Coughing and trying desperately to regain his vision, he instinctively followed whoever was dragging him through the traffic and down an alley. They stopped briefly and the firm hand left his shoulder to pat him roughly on the back. The familiar voice was a surprise, but definitely a relief, "Dean, you ok? We need to move, come on."

"Dad?" Dean blinked as his eyes cleared and he was able to finally take in deep breaths of clean air.

John smiled, "come on Dean." He glanced back the way they'd come, then grabbed Dean's arm and pulled him down the alley a few steps before letting go and jogging to his truck.

Dean coughed a few more times, but gladly ran to the passenger side of the truck and jumped in.

---

At the motel room Dean filled in his dad on everything that had happened. "How did you find us? How did you even know we were in trouble?"

"I was watching the brief news reports of Sarah's disappearance. I knew that you and Sam would be going there. When you didn't answer your cell phone and the missing reports continued, I knew something was wrong. Now, where's Sam?"

Dean shook his head, "I don't know. We were separated. When the FBI cleared the place they didn't find him. They couldn't find the two leaders of the group either, I think they took Sam."

John shook his head. "Sam's not with them. I was listening to the scanners about their escape. I saw them leaving, but it was just the two of them. I didn't see Sam anywhere, just you."

Dean's jaw clenched in sudden fear, "What if he escaped and followed them or was going to try to get me from the station? If the cops …"

John held up his hand and stopped Dean's trail of thought. "He wasn't following them and your car was still hidden when I left." John grabbed the keys to the truck, "come on, lets go get the car."

"But Dad, we have …"

"Dean. Let's go, now."

"Yes sir." Dean sighed and grabbed his jacket as they left the room and got in the truck.

---

The car was exactly where Dean had hidden it several nights before. Everything was in place and there was still no sign of Sam. Dean's stomach was in knots and looking at his dad's worried expression let him know that this was bad. Dean had never known his father to not have a plan or an idea of what to do, but as they stood looking at the car, Dean knew that they had no clues to follow and no idea where Sam could be.


	14. The Lost Son

_Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it._

---

John sat near the sink washing the bloody towel out before dabbing it against his eyebrow were it was still bleeding. Dean was on the floor panting and holding his bleeding nose. It has been three weeks since Sam had disappeared and Dean was losing it. He blamed himself for not protecting his baby brother and when his dad had come back to the motel with no news again he'd blown up. His dad tried to play drill sergeant and tell him to snap out of it and get a hold of himself, but instead Dean actually blew up at him. When he'd grabbed Dean by the shirt collar, Dean had reacted by pushing and punching him. It only took him one hit to knock Dean back, not only away from him but back to reality. Dean had immediately apologized and sank into the sitting position he was still in.

The motel room had been uncomfortably quiet since.

John finished cleaning up the cut and moved across the room past Dean to the table and the computer. Dean sat on the floor for a little bit longer before he got up and went to the sink to clean up. Looking at himself in the mirror, he could tell just how little sleep he'd gotten. The dark circles under his eyes and pale complexion made him look away. As he turned the water off, his cell phone rang.

Dean almost leapt over the bed to get to it. John sat up, watching and listening to everything Dean said. Dean opened the phone and brought it to his ear, "Hello?"

"Dean?"

"Yeah. Hey Sarah." Dean's voice almost cracked with disappointment. Sarah had survived her ordeal, after spending several days in a coma and then another week in the hospital. But she was home now and just as worried about Sam as the rest of them. She called Dean at least once a day to ask if there was any news and to offer her support.

"I guess there's no news then. I'm sorry Dean." Sarah's voice was soft and more of a whisper. Dean knew that she was just as worried and taking this just as hard. She'd tried to blame herself, but Dean had told her in no uncertain terms that it was not her fault and the bastards that had taken him would pay dearly. But that was almost two weeks ago and Dean's fire had turned into self judgment and desperate cling to hope.

---

Sam had no idea where he was. He did know that he'd been here for weeks with no sign of anyone other than these three individuals obviously possessed. There was always a man at the end of the hallway when ever he would open the door to his room. Today was a little different though.

There were no windows. The room was old, but not falling apart. The wallpaper was peeling in the corners and the pattern was definitely old style. But the furniture was very comfortable, even if it creaked with age when he sat down. It was strange, but even though he'd hit them a couple of times with various pieces, breaking the furniture, they always replaced them. He tried several time to leave, but never got past the guard at the end of the hallway. The first few times he'd fight with which ever guy was there, then he'd end up back in the room. After that, he never made it to the end of the hallway. They'd just jerk their heads, he'd be thrown back into the room, and the door would close in his face. For the last week he'd occasionally open the door to check, but would just close it back once he saw the guard. It was pointless to fight them.

He hadn't opened the door at all yesterday. He just sat on the bed or in the chair contemplating his situation. They'd come in with food three times each day. They fed him well too. He couldn't remember a time when he'd actually had a decent meal. Well, it caused his heart to ache when he thought about it, but he remembered the meal with Sarah in the fancy restaurant when they were investigating the portrait. But that was in the past. Just like Jessica. Just like his mom. Just like Dean. Tears welled in his eyes and he tried to push his mind to think of something else. His dad was still out there somewhere, wasn't he? Sam was pretty sure they would have made a point to tell him if they'd killed his father too. Wasn't that their game? To break him?

Today was different though. He sat in the chair looking at the table where his empty lunch dishes sat. They'd brought him a very tasty lasagna dish and garlic bread. He was definitely satisfied with the meal. The chair was lush and he rested his head lazily on the back of it breathing slowly and fighting back the desire to curl up and take a nap. Instead, he got up and opened the door. The hallway was empty.

Sam swallowed and stepped out of the room. Walking slowly down the hall he stopped at the edge and listed. He could hear the woman talking to someone. He hadn't seen her since they'd brought him here. Only the guys would stand guard or bring him the food.

"He hasn't opened the door at all today, just like yesterday. He's been given lunch and didn't try anything when I took it in to him," said the man he'd started calling Chuck. They never told him their names, so he gave them one. Bob and Chuck. Those names just seemed to fit them.

"Good. Maybe he's beginning to grow accustomed to his new surroundings." There was a hesitation and Sam held his breath. "Well, we no longer have to worry about his father, that problem has been taken care of. I think we can move on to the next phase. We'll start tomorrow."

Sam's heart broke, his head dropped, and his eyes started watering. Slowly he just walked back down the hallway and returned quietly to his room.

---

In the living room area the woman removed her fingers from Chuck's lips and smiled. "Ok, he's back in his room now. Return to your place and I'll see you tomorrow."

Chuck nodded then, as he turned to leave, he looked back at her, "his father?"

She smiled and shook his head, "not yet, but I'm sure it'll happen soon enough."

---

He hadn't realized that he'd been lying on the bed so long, but as Bob came in with dinner he knew it had been hours. Sam didn't turn his head or acknowledge Bob in any way other than to open his eyes and stare at the ceiling. Bob placed the dinner dishes on the table and took the lunch dishes away.

Sam glanced over at the table to see what appeared to be filet mignon wrapped in bacon with a baked potato and asparagus. A can of Coca Cola sat next to the plate, as did a fork and steak knife. Sam huffed lightly; they really had no fear of him at all. He didn't feel hungry. Actually, he didn't fell anything at all. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander. He'd lost everyone he loved now. He started himself on a journey from the time Dean picked him up from Stamford to when they'd finished off the haunting before hearing about Sarah. He omitted the events surrounding Jessica and Sarah on purpose. He didn't think past the haunting because he didn't want to remember the events that led to Dean and Sarah's death. Each hunt, each joke, each smile, each laugh that he and Dean had shared went through his mind. Each smile and the kisses he'd shared with Sarah appeared too. Eventually, he drifted off to sleep.

Sam woke with a start as the door to his room opened. Bob came in with breakfast and swapped out the dishes again. He looked over the uneaten dinner but said nothing. Sam sat up as his stomach started grumbling. Pancakes, eggs, sausage, biscuits, and orange juice waited for him. The door closed behind Bob as Sam moved over to the table to eat. Once he'd finished breakfast he leaned back in the chair thinking over the dream he'd had last night. He'd slept unusually well and his dreams had been about when he was younger. His dad was hunting and he and Dean had the run of the motel room for several days. Wrestling, joking, laughing, watching TV, and thoroughly cleaning the guns. Ok, so it wasn't completely perfect, but it was close to normal. He tried to push the thoughts and images of his family out of his mind.

After a long while, he got up and opened the door to his room. No one was in the hallway. Cautiously he walked down to the corner and listened. Everything was quiet. He slowly turned the corner only to see Bob and the woman standing calmly in the main room of the house. "Good morning Sam," she cooed, "I hope you enjoyed breakfast." Sam took a deep breath but said nothing in reply. She looked him over for several minutes without saying anything more to him. Finally, after a very long and awkward silence, she smiled and said, "are you ready to begin Sam or do you need a few more days to come to terms with your new life?"

"New life?" Sam almost spat the words.

"Of course. Why do you think you are here? I told you before; we're your family now. As soon as you are ready, you will be introduced to the others. But for now, you get to be with us," she gestured at herself, Bob, and Chuck who was standing in the back of the room where Sam hadn't seen him before. "Once you have shown you are ready, you'll be taken to the rest of the family. Until then, I will be training and testing you."

"What kind of training and tests?" Sam was starting to get a little nervous.

Her smile was almost kind, "you'll see. Don't worry, we have lots of time and I'll take it slow." For some reason, that didn't make Sam feel any less nervous.

---

It had been almost two months since Sam had disappeared. Dean obediently followed his father on hunts or stayed back at the motel room watching the cell phone. He'd gone back to the sewers once the police had finally left. He went over every inch of every tunnel he came across. He found the blood in the room where they'd had Sam locked, but nothing more. He couldn't find any other traces of blood anywhere. He couldn't understand why Sam wouldn't contact him and he refused to believe that Sam was dead.

John said he was still looking for clues and all his contacts were keeping an eye out, but nothing had come up. He'd started hunting again, probably to vent his frustrations out on anything even remotely evil that he could get his hands on. He called Missouri at least once a week to see if she'd been able to pick anything up, but still no luck there. He was trying to get Dean to hunt with him but his eldest son was in a depression that he wasn't sure how to fix. Loss was part of their lives and the risks they took every hunt were understood. But this was different; Sam had disappeared so there was no way to know if he was dead or alive and that was worse than if they would have actually had to burry him. So he continued to hunt. Not only for evil creatures to kill but for clues about what might have happened to Sam.

For the first time in a long time, he sat at the table and told Dean to join him. "Dean, I know how you feel, but I need you to concentrate. I'm not going to just bark orders at you this time; I want you to work this case with me. Really work it, not just follow and shoot at anything that moves."

Dean frowned, "what's the case?"

---

John looked over at Dean sleeping on the motel bed. He'd done well over the past couple of weeks and seemed to be getting back into the swing of the hunt. They had killed lots of evil critters and done research on disappearances that might have been supernaturally caused. While he may not be completely over the loss of Sam, he was becoming more like himself and was once again determined to find something about his baby brother.

At least until his cell phone rang.

Dean was awake in an instant, grabbing the phone and checking the caller ID. "Hey Sarah."

"Dean," Sarah's voice was soft and full of tears; she was sobbing so hard Dean almost didn't understand what she was saying. Unfortunately, he did hear it and when she said, "found possible evidence of Sam among the remains" he dropped the phone on the floor.

John quickly got up and grabbed the phone, "Sarah, what is it?" John's face was pale but he listened intently to her as she sobbed the story out again. Acid, bone fragments, male and female, Sam's jacket, personal belongings of the missing women, and more were found in the sewers by a maintenance worker. John could barely make the words, "thank you for telling us Sarah," come out of his mouth. He closed the phone and walked back to the chair. John didn't even try to hold back the tears and he could see Dean's falling unchecked as well where he was sitting on the bed with his head in his hands.


	15. Escape!

_Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. _

_This one is shorter than the others and ends where it originally ended on the WB boards. I'm sure my previous readers will be happy to finally get an update! Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it._

---

Sam was pinned to the wall. The woman stood in front of him with a small table between them. On the table was a large Bowie knife. Sam's face was red with anger and pushed against the unseen force that held him against the wall.

"Come on Sam. Not with your body, with your mind." She was glaring at him with an evil sneer on her face, "Dean's brain matter redecorated one of our rooms! Sarah writhed and convulsed on the floor from the poisons we gave her! Your dad was ripped literally to pieces!" She laughed at him, "you hate me so much; just kill me then! The knife is right there, use it! Focus that hate! Focus your rage and kill me!"

Sam tried; he wanted to kill her with every fiber of his being. He looked at the knife and visualized it piercing her skin, gutting her. But the knife didn't move. As his energy and steam burned out he let his head hang. Her laughter was like the knife cutting into him instead of him doing it to her…

She moved the table out of the way and walked up to him. She let her hand caress his stomach, across his chest, up his neck, and brushed his cheek. He jerked his head away from her, "go to hell." She just smiled, "been there, done that. It's more fun here." She stepped back and released him from the wall. He glared at her and glanced quickly at the knife on the table beside them. "Go ahead," she cooed. As much as he wanted to, he also knew that's what she wanted him to do.

"I'm not going to play your games or become what you're hoping. So either put me out of my misery or let me go," Sam turned away from her and strode to his room, closing the door behind him.

---

Sam was standing at the sink. He'd been in this house for almost four months now. They hadn't really done anything to him besides pin him to the wall and taunt him with the death of his family. This week he had stopped trying to move the knife at all. He was tired of their game. His mind and body were numb to their taunts now. He'd come to grips with the loss of his family and they couldn't use it against him any more.

Karen, she'd finally told him her name, came to the house often to icheck/i on him. Typically she just asked him if he was ready to start, and then shrug and leave when he cussed at her, attacked her, or just turned his back on her. Attacking her was a rare occurrence since she'd typically just throw him across the room before turning to leave. Bob and Chuck were always there. If he was not in his room, one of them would always be within eyesight.

Karen had already made her check for today and left. As he stood at the sink filling a glass of water he looked at the few dishes that were there. One item caught his eye. An idea flashed through his mind. He drank the water in the glass and glanced over at Chuck. He wasn't sure where Bob was, but he knew he wouldn't have much time. So he refilled the glass and took a couple of sips before he started mumbling the prayer that his father had made him memorize.

Chuck shifted at the front door, but didn't say anything. He watched Sam getting the second drink, but glanced away as he began to drink it. He thought he heard Sam saying something, but he couldn't tell. He'd been in the house for about four months and wasn't worried about Sam. He'd enjoyed the few bouts in the beginning where he'd been able to throw the kid around, but it was quiet now. He was pretty sure Sam's spirit was broken even if he was still a little defiant every now and again.

Sam finished what he was doing and began moving towards the front door. Chuck just watched casually from his position. When Sam attacked, Chuck was a little surprise, but confident in his ability to once again take down the boy. However, when Sam stabbed him with the turkey basting syringe and injected the holy water, Chuck was completely surprised and taken off guard.

Sam didn't hesitate; he opened the front door and took off running. He didn't care what direction he was going as long as he got away. He ran straight for the woods and dodged trees as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him.


	16. Never Say Goodbye

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it._

---

John and Dean had buried a mostly empty coffin next to Mary. Sarah had made all the plans and arrangements for the funeral. Most of John's hunting contacts had come to pay their respects if they could. Missouri said a few words of comfort for everyone around the grave site. Everyone had eventually left, leaving John, Dean, Sarah, and Missouri looking down at the hole in the ground where the coffin had been lowered. When the men had arrived to move the dirt into the hole, Missouri had taken John's arm and led him away. Dean moved out of the way but didn't leave. Sarah did the same, but after the men had started to pour the dirt she couldn't stay any longer and walked quietly crying to her car and headed to her motel before heading back home tomorrow.

Dean stood and watched the dirt as it piled in and eventually left a mound. They wouldn't place the headstone for a few more days because they were still engraving it. Dean pulled out the flask that Bobby had given him a while back and took a drink. Once the men left, he walked over to the grave and squatted down beside it. Sam's words ran through his mind, "what closure? People don't just disappear Dean; other people just stop looking for them." Only the coffin they buried wasn't completely empty. Small fragment remains that the coroner assumed were Sam's had been placed in there. He took another drink and then laid it down. "Sorry Sammy. I was supposed to protect you. I was supposed to keep you safe. I screwed up and I'm sorry." He took a deep breath, stood, and walked away.

---

Sam ran through the trees until they opened up into a large clearing. He stopped behind a tree and glanced around listening for anyone that might be pursuing. In the clearing there was a large house on one side and a barn on the other. Everything seemed to be well kept. The main portion of the clearing contained a garden area. On the opposite side of him in the far center there were several tables, wall-less tents, lots of chairs, and people milling around like it was some type of celebration. A quick glance over at the house revealed very few cars though. It didn't matter, any car he could hot-wire would do. He hated stealing anything, but this was definitely a good time to do it.

Sam followed the tree line towards the house hoping no one in the group noticed anything. He heard crashing coming through the trees from the direction he ran and knew that Chuck and Bob were probably coming after him. He hurried faster to the house and cut across the drive towards the cars once the house was blocking his view of the people. Picking the last car in the drive he quickly ran over and checked it. Luckily it was unlocked. He quickly opened the door and ducked under the dash pulling out the wires he needed. A few clicks and the engine cranked. Quickly he got in to the car, put it in reverse, and started pulling down the driveway. He turned the car around as soon as he had an open area and then floored the gas sending bits of gravel and dirt into the air.

In the rear view mirror he saw Bob break through the tree line a second or two before Chuck did. Relief swept over Sam in a wave as he raced towards the end of the driveway and what he believed was freedom. As he neared the end he hit the brakes to make the turn. Before he could make the turn the car slammed to a complete halt. Because he wasn't wearing a seat belt, his chest hit the steering wheel hard and knocked the breath from his chest. He was pretty sure he heard several ribs cracking. As he looked up groggily, he saw another car sitting out on the road. He watched as Karen stepped out of the car and began walking in his direction.

Sam floored the gas, but the car didn't move. He put it in reverse, but still couldn't get it to move anywhere. In the rear view mirror he saw Bob and Chuck come jogging down the drive. Sam got out of the car and prepared himself for Karen's attack. Instead, she turned away as Bob and Chuck caught up and took their frustrations out on him.

---

Missouri was providing a reading for a customer. She had asked several questions and listened to the gentleman as he explained the situation he was having at work. The sensation swept over her so fast her breath caught in her chest and she couldn't inhale or scream as she wanted to do. The sense of fear, despair, and desire to just lay down and give up hit her like a sledge hammer. The customer she was with jumped up and ran to her side asking her if she was okay and picked up his cell phone to call 911. She quickly regained herself and stopped him from making the call.

"I'm okay honey, honestly. Just have a seat for just a minute while I get myself some water." Missouri quickly got up and headed for the kitchen. When she returned the gentleman was still sitting nervously in his chair. She smiled sweetly at him, "don't you worry about a thing honey, that wasn't about you at all. But I do have to ask for you to reschedule, I have something very important that I must attend to right now." She quickly ushered him out the door and raced back to the phone. She dialed the number, it rang several times, and she came very close to cursing when the inevitable voice mail started on John Winchester's cell phone. Instead of leaving a message, she hung up and quickly dialed another number. It rang several times before the voice picked up on the other side."

"Hello," the voice said in a soft tone filled with too much grief and she almost didn't recognize it was him.

"Dean? I need to speak to you and your father. Quickly. Is your father with you?" Missouri could feel the deep depression coming from Dean and it made her eyes water.

"No. He should be back in a day or so though. What's wrong?" Dean tried to sound interested.

"Well, I don't know how exactly to tell you this," she drew a deep breath, "but I think your brother is still alive."

There was a deafening silence on the other end, then she heard Dean take a shallow breath, "Missouri, please don't do this. If you have any doubts…"

"Dean Winchester," she snapped into the phone, "I do not doubt my abilities and I am telling you that in one form or another, I have felt Sam." She took a deep breath, regaining her composure and knowing how despairing Dean felt on the other end of the line, "oh honey, I'm sorry. I know … well … please, I need you and your father to come and see me."

Dean responded in the positive and began packing up his things as soon as he'd hung up the phone. He knew his dad was either on a hunt or drinking it up at some bar again and wouldn't be back for a few days, but that didn't mean he had to sit at the motel and wait. He called his dad's cell phone and got the usual voice mail, so he left a message telling him what Missouri had said and that he was heading to her place. Dean took all his belongings, threw them into the Impala, and hit the road for Missouri's.

---

The first sensation Sam felt was pain. He was use to it, but this time it was a throbbing pain that hit most of the nerves of his body. Just taking in shallow breaths caused pain. He felt something cool on his forehead but even the light pressure caused him to wince. It was immediately removed and he could feel someone shifting on the bed next to him. At least he was pretty sure he was on a bed; he still hadn't opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was Chuck and Bob tackling him and after the four or fifth punch and kick, he'd blacked out.

He tried to open his eyes and found that movement hurt just as much as breathing did. He was able to open his left, but when his right eye lids wouldn't cooperate he assumed they were swollen shut. His vision was a bit blurry and his left eye lids were swollen a bit too. He heard the sound of dripping water near him and the cool towel came back to his forehead. He didn't flinch this time, the cool cloth felt good even if it did cause the throbbing to intensify slightly.

A soft female voice spoke next to him, "it's good to see you finally waking up, Sam." She dabbed the cloth lightly before removing it again. It was not Karen's voice though. He turned his head to see her with his left eye. She was standing next to the bed wringing out the towel again. She had long blond hair pulled back into a long braid. When she turned to gently touch the towel to his lips and eyes he noticed that she had sharp crystal blue eyes. "We were beginning to get a little worried that you wouldn't be coming back. You've been asleep for a couple of days."

"Where am I," his voice croaked through his dry throat. He tried to swallow, but his mouth was just as dry.

She brought him a small cup of water and held his head as he took careful sips. She smiled at him, "you're at the training camp."

Sam coughed a little, "training camp?"

"Yes. Karen brought you over here to get better and to work on your abilities. I'll be your mentor, so to speak."

That didn't comfort him very much and he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He glanced over at the girl and saw her frown.

"You don't want to be here, do you?" she scowled.

"Mind reader, huh?" Sam whispered before relaxing back on the pillow and closing his eye.

"You shouldn't be here until you're ready to accept the path. I will not be a babysitter for some cry baby who's home sick." She stood angrily from the bed and moved the table holding the water bowl and towel to the wall, causing the water to splash out.

Sam could feel her looking at him, so he shifted his thoughts away from there and just thought about Jess, Dean, his dad, and Sarah. After a moment or two, he heard the woman leave the room, closing the door hard behind her. Sam just smiled, at least as much as his swollen lips would let him.


	17. Free to Dream

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it._

---

"Defiant to the end, eh Sammy?" The woman's voice woke Sam from a dreamless sleep. He didn't respond other than to grunt lightly. He refused to open his fairly good eye, he didn't need to, he recognized Karen's voice, after so many days of her torment. "It's ok. Would you like to leave?"

Sam snorted again, "Yeah. When can I go?"

"Right now."

Sam opened his eye and struggled to sit up a little. He looked her straight in the eye trying to determine her intentions. He smirked a little, "I'm not falling for your tricks."

She smiled, "it's no trick. Go on, leave." She moved away from the door and gestured with her hand that the way was open.

Sam shrugged, "ok, let's see how this game plays out." He cautiously pulled himself out of the bed. Every muscle screamed at him as he made them move. He slowly put his shoes on as Karen stood at the door patiently waiting. He stood up on shaky legs but moved to the door. Karen didn't move and just watched him as he walked by.

Sam moved down the hallway and he realized that he was in a different house. He looked back towards Karen and she was following behind him several steps.

"Down the stairs at the end of the hallway. The door will be right in front of you."

Sam turned and saw the top of the stairs, he walked cautiously to them. He glanced back at her one more time, then walked down the stairs and out the front door. The sun hit his face and warmed him. Glancing around he saw the garden, tables, tent, chairs, and bar that he'd seen from the woods when he tried to escape before. The young blond woman that had tended to his wounds was standing on the driver's side of a car.

Karen stepped around him, "Carol, take Sam where ever he wants to go. Hang around for a while, as long as you like, but don't bother him. Find a hotel or something to stay at while you're waiting. That way, when he wants to come back you'll be there to bring him home."

Carol just scowled, "I'm not a …"

"Hush Carol," Karen interrupted her, "you will do as you are told and you know you will be rewarded for your _efforts_ in time."

Carol just looked over at Sam, "well get in." She stepped into the car and started the engine, tapping impatiently on the steering wheel.

Sam hesitated for a moment, then walked over and got in the car.

"Where to?"

"Upstate New York."

She sighed heavily, turned the car, and left the house behind them.

---

The multiple hour drive was long and silent. Carol didn't say a word and Sam had no interest in speaking to her either. Finally the New York welcome sign appeared on the highway and his mood improved slightly.

"Alright," Carol snapped bitterly, "where can I dump you out at?"

Sam smirked, enjoying her dislike to her current assignment. He gave her quick instruction on how to get to the Blake Auction House.

They pulled up to the auction house and Sam's heart sunk. In a small corner of his mind he'd been hoping that everything Karen had said was a lie. But as Carol stopped the car in front of the building, the black ribbons and closed sign on the door told him a great deal.

Sam got out of the car without saying anything and entered the auction house. Most of the floor was empty and the tables had a layer of dust over them. He'd walked about half way across the barren floor when he heard a woman's voice from above him. A flash of memory of Sarah walking down the stairs, his first sight of her and the moment she snatched his heart, caused a smile to tug at the corner of his mouth.

Unfortunately, the woman standing on the landing above him was not Sarah. She was older and looked down at him with a light scowl on her face. "Can I help you?" she repeated.

"Uh … I was looking for the Blakes?"

Her scowl deepened. "Mr. Blake has not been here for several months, since his daughter died."

Sam's heart sank and he took a couple of steps backwards. He mumbled his thanks to the woman and left the auction house. Carol was still sitting in the car with a disgusted look on her face.

Sam sat back in the car and she rolled her eyes, "where to now Sammy."

"You don't get to call me that. It's Sam," he snapped at her.

"Whatever," she returned without care, "where do I have to take you now."

"Kansas."

"Oh man," she whined as she started up the car and began the drive again.

As the sun set, she refused to drive him further without sleeping for the night. He didn't feel tired and she was more than happy to let him take off walking, but for some reason he agreed to stay the night with her. She got one room with two beds. Sam didn't care, he just undressed to his boxers, climbed in the bed and fell asleep.

It didn't seem like he'd been asleep for long, but he was happy to have rested without nightmares. Carol woke him by barking at him to get up from across the room as she put her shoes on. He complied, without thinking, just natural reaction to every time Dean said "let's go" and just did it.

Carol watched him with an interested smirk on her face, until he turned around, the she returned her scowl. She grabbed her keys and walked out of the room. Shortly, they were back on the road, this time heading for Kansas.

---

Sam dozed in the car as they drove, the silence boring him to sleep. His dreams were weird; he was somewhere unfamiliar spinning a dagger above his palm. He was fascinated with it; he felt a little pride in making it spin faster and faster. Then he heard Carol's voice in the distance, "cool. Nicely done."

A touch of fear gripped him and he jerked awake. Glancing around he noticed they were at a gas station. Carol was outside with the attendant as he washed the windows. She almost reminded him of Dean, she was checking the boy out like Dean did to most women he would meet. "Thanks," she winked at him as he finished up and took her money for the fill-up.

Once they were back on the road, she glanced over at him, "have a good a nap Sam?"

He shrugged, "I guess so."

"Well, we're in Kansas, so tell me where we're going." Carol yawned.

He gave her the directions to Missouri's house.

They arrived within an hour and walked up to the door. Before Sam even knocked Missouri open the door and gripped him in a tight hug. "Sam! Oh my word, boy, I thought you were gone too!" When she finally released him after a minute, her eyes and cheeks were wet from tears. "Come in, come in," she said as she ushered both of them into the house.

They sat on the same couch where he and Dean had the first time they'd met her, only this time Dean wasn't with him. Instead it was some woman who worked for the demon that had killed his brother, Sarah, and probably his father too.

Missouri came in to the room with some hot tea and placed it on the table in front of them. She sat across from them and looked at Sam, "how are you holding up."

They chatted for a while as Carol sat quietly listening. Sam finally asked, "Missouri, um … Dean and dad … "

Missouri gave him a sad smile, "I made sure they were buried right with Mary."

Sam swallowed hard, "thanks Missouri." He and Carol left. She knew where he'd want to go next and simply asked, "how do I get to the graveyard." She smiled at Sam as he looked at her, not sure if she was being sincere or smart. He finally smiled back and told her how to get there.

It didn't take long to arrive and Sam knew exactly where to go. Carol followed several steps behind him. He finally stopped before three graves. One single large stone said Winchesters across the top. Three smaller sections read John, Mary, and Dean. Sam stood over them for a long while just looking at each of the names and the dates.

He's not sure how long he stood there looking at them, but at some point Carol stepped up beside him and looped her arm with his. She stood there as well quietly for a time before she finally said, "I'm tired Sam, can we go to the motel? We can always come back tomorrow if you like."

Something struck him as odd, "why are you being nice all of a sudden?"

"I'm too tired to be grouchy?"

Sam smiled lightly at her, "ok, I could use some sleep myself."

They walked back to the car and drove to a nice motel that Sam picked. Getting one room with two beds again, they got comfortable for the night. It didn't seem to take long before Sam was sound asleep.

---

Carol opened her eyes and gasped at the pain, she thought her head was going to explode. Blood covered the front of her shirt from her nose and her vision was blurred slightly. She blinked a few times until she could see Sam clearly sleeping on the bed in front of her. "Up the dosage so he doesn't wake up," she whispered hoarsely.

Karen smiled and increased the gas levels to the mask placed neatly across Sam's nose and mouth. "How did it go?"

Carol smiled, "it went very well. I've almost got him eating out of my hands."

"And what did you show him?" Karen inquired.

"He went to the auction house to confirm Sarah's death; he visited some woman named Missouri, who is apparently a little gifted herself. I showed him the graves for his father, mother, and Dean all together with the appropriate dates that you gave me." Carol took a deep breath. "I must get some rest, or I will not be able to continue this tomorrow."

Karen nodded, "very well. Excellent job so far my dear, excellent job." Karen smiled at Sam's sleeping form before turning and following Carol out of the room.


	18. Friend or Foe?

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it._

---

"How much time do you think you'll need Carol?" Karen stood next to Sam adjusting the mask on his face. "I'm going to need to switch to an IV drug if you're going to need more than today."

"I understand. I was able to make several days pass for us and I'm sure I can do the same. Once I have him, you can turn off the gas, I shouldn't have a problem keeping him as long as the house is quiet." Carol took her place in the chair next to the bed and looked at Sam sleeping peacefully. "Anything specific you want to occur?"

Karen reached down and grabbed Carol by the face, "what do you think? He's been a thorn in my side for months now. I want him humbled and doing as he's told." Karen roughly removed her hand, jerking Carol's head slightly.

Carol glared up at her, "I'm doing my best. You can't expect me to turn him into an obedient puppy overnight when he's had 23 years of good-boy ingrained into him."

Carol cringed and expected Karen to hit her, but the blow never came. Karen just stared down at her with the slight snarl expression on her face and clenched jaw. "I am well aware of your challenge and I know you'll do the job." Karen glanced over at Sam, "if you're going to bring him out of this today then you need to make sure you end it in a fight. Otherwise, he'll be suspicious about his wounds."

Carol nodded, "I understand. Give me a minute or two and then take off the mask." Carol reached out with her mind towards Sam, linking was easy enough. Taking over was a little more difficult. She found him in a dream, one of his nightmares actually. Jess was above him and the fire was raging around him. She knew the next step would be for Dean to come crashing in the door to rescue him … instead, she took control of the dream …

Carol reached down and grabbed Sam, pulling him from the bed. Sam looked at her in confusion as she pushed him out of the room. He was no longer looking at Jess or calling her name. He looked at her dumbfounded as she pushed him away from the blazing heat of the burning room and held onto his shirt calling his name, "Sam? Sam?"

Sam suddenly jerked awake. Carol was sitting next to him on the bed in the motel. Her hands were resting on his chest shaking him lightly, "Sam?"

"Hey there. Welcome back," Carol smiled easily at him as he sat up on his elbows. She didn't move away and just watched him. "You ok? Another nightmare?"

Sam looked at her concerned features and frowned slightly.

"You seem to have them a lot." She smiled and casually reached up and moved the thick locks of his brown hair from his eyes. He pulled his head away from her and she returned her hand to her lap and shrugged, "you're eye's healing up nicely," she said softly as she got up from the bed and moved to the table where breakfast was sitting.

Sam looked at the table and the bags on the floor. She'd obviously gone somewhere other than fast food and brought back a decent array of items to choose from for breakfast.

"I thought you might be hungry. You were sleeping so soundly, but I could hear that stomach of yours growling all the way across the room." She waved a hand at the chair on the other side of the table, "why don't you come up and pick something to eat."

She looked over at him sitting on the bed unsure; she knew the various thoughts running through his head. "Damn Sammy, I'm not that bad." She scowled at his surprised look. "I have not poisoned the food, nor trying to force you to do anything you don't want to. I was instructed to take you where ever you wanted and hang out to see if you decided to come home." She turned disgustedly towards the different containers of food and served herself what she wanted, leaving the rest for Sam if he so choose.

"Stay out of my head," he finally said feeling bad that he'd thought those things and worse about her. He took a deep breath and joined her at the table, picked out several different things to eat as his stomach growled fiercely at him.

---

"Any luck yet Missouri?" Dean called her on the phone for the fourth time in two days.

"No honey and I'm not going to get anywhere if you keep calling and disturbing me." Missouri took a deep breath and sighed, "I'm sorry Dean, but I just can't find him. What I felt was so sudden and so intense, but stopped so quickly I couldn't come close to telling you where it originated. I can't even tell you which direction to look. Right now I'm just hoping he'll try to contact me again."

Dean sighed and clenched his fists in frustration, "ok Missouri. Let us know if you do find something."

"You know I will."

---

There was plenty of food on the table and Sam ate his fill. Sitting back with a satisfied belch, he blushed at Carol, "excuse me."

Carol laughed softly and waved her hand at him in a 'don't worry about it' gesture. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. Whenever you're ready, just let me know and we'll hit the road again." Carol stood up and started packing her bag.

Sam watched her curiously. She rolled her clothes like Dean did, fussed over her hair like Jess use to, tried to wake him and soothe him when he was having nightmares like both of them, and seemed annoyed by his presence but at ease with helping him around all at the same time. Sam took a breath and turned his attention to the table. He cleaned up the leftovers and pulled out his laptop. He began looking through web pages for unusual deaths and something to hunt. He focused his mind on the search and tried not to think of anything else. He got the reaction he was expecting.

Carol turned around and glared at him from the sink area where she had been brushing her hair. She put the brush down on the sink and tried to walk casually over to him, "what'cha doing?"

He glanced up at her, "what do you think I'm doing?" He stood up from his chair and grabbed her by the throat forcing her against the wall, "get out of my head. I don't know what you think you're going to accomplish, but I can see right through all the hints of Dean and Jess that you're trying to mimic." He tightened his grip and she just pulled desperately at his hand and hit at his arm, squirming against the wall, tears welling in her eyes. He pressed his face very close to her's and growled, "I wont become what you're wanting me to be. I wont help you or Karen or any of the others. I will never do what you want. You took my family away from me and I will not forgive, forget, or bend to you. Ever!" He squeezed a little harder and her eyes rolled, her hands fell limply to her sides, and she sank into unconsciousness.

Sam blinked and quickly let her go. She fell to the ground and when he checked she wasn't breathing. Panic began to sweep over him as he laid her straight on the ground and began to try rescue breathing. "Come on, breathe damn it." He checked her pulse and it was still there, so he breathed into her mouth again. After a second she inhaled sharply and began coughing.

She squirmed away from him, tears streaming from her eyes as she back-peddled as fast as she could towards the bathroom area. Sam stood as she curled herself under the sink coughing and holding her throat, all the while watching him with tear-filled eyes. "I did it because I like you. I'm just supposed to watch you and keep you safe, that's all Karen told me to do. But you're a really nice guy and I like you, so I thought if I could fill in even a little bit of what you lost you might feel the same thing about me." She pulled her knees up to her chest and tucked her chin in so that her forehead was resting on her knees. "I'm sorry, Sam," she sobbed lightly from her place under the sink's vanity.

Sam just frowned and watched her, not sure if he should believe her.

After a few moments, Sam took a deep breath and walked over and kneeling down next to her. He knew she was probably reading his mind already so he went ahead and put his hand on her shoulder. She jerked back and hit her head on the vanity, causing her to cry out a little and put a hand over the spot that had impacted. This just made him mad, thinking she was messing around with him again.

She looked up at him and noticed the frown on his face, "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you to touch me in any way other than to maybe choke me again."

"Yeah right."

"I didn't, I can't read your mind when I'm upset. I have to concentrating and I can't do that right now." She swallowed and rubbed the spot on her head checking it to make sure it wasn't bleeding. "I'm still trying to get over the fact that you were going to kill me," she sniffed. She looked up into Sam's eyes, "I wont do it any more, not intentionally. I promise. I can't help it if you get too emotional though, because it'll just come to me as if you'd opened your mouth and told me. But I wont purposefully go into your head anymore." She looked at him hopefully as he stared down at her.

The room was silent for a while. Sam stood up and offered her a hand up, which she lightly accepted and went over to sit on her bed without looking at Sam. She fidgeted with her socks and shoes while Sam went back over to the laptop and just stared at the screen.

"I want you to take me to Palo Alto." Sam suddenly said.

"Where?"

"Palo Alto. California." Sam stared at her.

"Uh, ok." She stood up and started packing, "who's there?"

"Stanford," he said pointedly as he shut down the laptop and began packing his things.

"The school?" Carol glanced at him questioningly as she finished putting her things in the bag and zipped it up. "You have friends of family going there?"

"I'm going back to school." He closed his bag and looked at Carol, "I never wanted this life really and now that I don't have a reason to stay in it, I'm going to back to school. I'm going to do what I had wanted to do before. This time I'm doing it for Dean."

Carol shrugged, "wow …uh … ok, to Palo Alto it is then." She shouldered her bag and headed for the door. The drive was quiet and Sam eventually drifted off to sleep as he watched the scenery go by. He woke up and noticed they were making excellent time. Glancing over at Carol she appeared to be getting tired, but just smiled over in his direction. Damn she could drive like Dean too. He stretched a little and grunted at the soreness of his muscles.

"Want me to pull over so you can stretch a little?" Sam looked at the road signs and a rest stop was coming up, so he nodded, "yeah, I could use a walk." As the exit came, she pulled over and got out of the car making a straight walk to the vending machines. Sam got out and strolled around the benches the small building that contained the restrooms. Something was wrong and he knew it, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He walked into the restroom and washed his face and hands.

Once he left the restroom he found Carol at the vending machines still pulling out chips and cokes. As he walked up to her, she smiled and handed him everything, "can you take these to the car while I use the restroom please?" He smiled and took everything from her, watching as she entered the building before walking over to the car. While he waited he looked around the rest stop at all the different people coming and going. He noticed a couple of burly looking men in a large truck at the end of the row of parking spaces. His mind raced as he recognized them, but couldn't remember where. As Carol returned to the car, she glanced in their direction, "what's wrong?"

"I don't know. I think I've seen them before, I just can't remember where." Sam frowned as he got into the car. Carol shrugged and got into the drivers side, "want me to do a walk by and see what they're up to?" Her smile faded quickly as Sam frowned at her, "you can't just get into people's head any time you feel like it." She blinked and opened her mouth to say something, but closed it and looked dejectedly at the steering wheel as she started the car and pulled back out onto the Interstate. Sam watched in the rear view mirror as the truck eventually pulled out as well. They were being followed.

Carol played various radio stations that she could find during the trip and Sam watched the truck follow them for a long time before he finally spoke up, "take the next exit." Carol blinked at him, "uh … what's the next exit?" Sam turned to her, "it doesn't matter. Just take the next exit and look for a way to get back to the Interstate afterwards. I need to see something." She shrugged, "ok." They took the exit into a small town that seemed to serve no purpose other than to take care of weary travelers. Looking at the gas gage she decided to pull into one of the stations and fill up the tank. Sam watched as the truck took the exit shortly after them and pulled into a restaurant across the street. "_That's just too obvious,_" Sam thought to himself.

Carol got back in the car and Sam glared at her, "have you been talking to anyone? Have you called Karen to let her know where we're going?" Carol shrank back a little from his tone and glare, "No. I haven't talked to Karen since we left the house. What's wrong?" Sam turned to stare at the truck across the street, "them." Carol looked at them, "the same guys from the rest stop?" Sam nodded. Carol pulled away from the pumps and drove across the street, Sam grabbed her arm, "what are you doing?" Carol stopped the car in the parking lot, "I'm going to find out who they are and why they're following us." Sam frowned again but before he could say anything she said, "they're making you nervous, which is making you stressed and making your thoughts yell at me, so I'm taking care of this so you don't start accusing me of reading your mind again." She looked at the men in the truck, "besides, if they're following us it's my job to keep you safe until I get you where you want to be."

They both got out of the car, "you can't fight, you couldn't even get out of my grasp this morning," Sam said over the hood of the car. Carol frown and instinctively rubbed her throat, "no, but if they're Karen's people they'll leave you alone because of me." She smiled at him and walked towards the truck. Sam watched her stride confidently to the truck as one of the men climbed out of the passenger side. He noticed her getting nervous and clenching her fists. As much as he wished for Dean's advice and a handgun, he knew that wasn't going to happen and prepared himself to have to fight these two men. But Carol back stepped away from him and turned to walk quickly back to the car, "get in. Now." The fear he saw in her eyes just made him more nervous. They climbed into the car and she pulled out of the lot squealing tires. Looking behind them, he could see the truck following again.

"Who are they Carol?" Sam looked at the stressed expression she had on her face as she continuously looked in the rear view mirror. Her eyes were glistening as she fought to keep tears backs, "they're here for you. We've been gone longer than Karen expected and she's sent them to make sure I'm doing my job. We need to lose them. They don't know where we're headed, so if we lose them we might stand a chance." Sam frowned, "how are we going to lose them?" Carol smiled at him the way Dean used to when he had a plan that Sam probably wasn't going to like. As they hit the Interstate, she floored the gas pedal. Sam held on and put on his seat belt. Carol glanced over at him and smiled again.

They weaved in and out of traffic as the car reached 110 MPH. Glancing behind them, Sam could see the truck was keeping up. Carol was staring intently out the front window. "What are you doing?" Sam's nervous tone caused her to smirk lightly, "I'm looking for someone." Sam frowned, "who?" Her smile broadened, "you'll see. He's close. His thoughts are getting easier to read now." Sam glared at her, "you said you weren't going to do that." She glanced at him briefly, "I said I wouldn't read yours, I didn't say anything about anyone else. You asked me not to read those guys at the rest stop, so I didn't, but now it's your life on the line and I'm going to do what I have to in order to keep you safe." Sam looked at her intently and she glanced over at him. "I'm sorry Sam, but I'm going to do what I have to." As they neared a bend in the road, Carol changed lanes and hit her brakes hard, the tires squealed and the truck flew past them, caught unaware as they flew around the light corner that a State Trooper was parked in some trees. Carol laughed lightly as the officer turned on his lights and began speeding to catch up with the truck. Sam couldn't help but smile as they passed by them and continued towards California.


	19. New Life

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it._

---

Sam woke with a start; he must have fallen asleep again while they were driving. It was dark already and Carol looked really tired. He thought it was really strange that he'd slept so long after they'd stopped for a late lunch. They were pretty sure they'd lost the guys and used cash instead of the credit card that Karen had given to Carol. She pulled off an exit and Sam realized they were going the wrong way, "Where the hell are you going?" Sam barked a bit more roughly than he'd intended.

Carol jumped at the sound and the car swerved lightly, "I … I uh … thought we should go this way for a while. We'll stop and get some cash from a teller machine using the credit card. They'll think we're going this way and then we'll back track a ways for a hotel room before heading to Palo Alto in the morning." Sam frowned, but knew it wasn't a bad tactic to make sure they weren't being followed and they did need some more cash. Sam's mind wandered about what he'd do once he got to Stanford. How could he start his life again if they would be looking for him all the time? He couldn't just register in his name but he didn't exactly want to start all over again in college with a new identity. He'd need to get new driver's license and school records. He didn't have his phone, his dad's journal, or anyway to get in touch with any of the usual contacts. He knew where Bobby lived though, and could probably get help there.

"What does Karen want from me?" Sam suddenly asked. Carol looked over at him questioningly, "are you serious?" Sam raised an eyebrow at her, "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know." She smiled at him and turned her eyes back to the road, "you'd be surprised Sam. You know what she uses me for?" Sam shook his head. "She has me find weaknesses in people's armor so to speak. Find their fears and hopes and dreams so she can manipulate them. To be honest, I don't know what she'd want with you but only because there are so many different things you can do." A smile crossed her face, "you're extremely smart and a good hunter. She might want you for the position you could get yourself into with the lawyer school. She's got a couple of detectives that she uses to manipulate crime scenes, so maybe she'd use you to help there. You've got a good head on your shoulders." She glanced over at Sam again, smiling.

Sam digested the information. Carol pulled the car over to a small teller machine out in front of a bank and got out. Sam watched her go and pulled out a lot of cash and then returned to the car. "Ok, let's back track and find us a good hotel for the night, shall we?" The smile on her face seemed genuine and perhaps a little mischievous. She turned the car around and headed back towards the Interstate.

Sam watched the scenery go by for a long while thinking about everything Carol had said. They changed Interstates and were once again pointed towards California. After was seemed to be an hour or so, Carol moved off and pulled into a simple motel, "how's this?" Sam blinked, looking around at where they were for the first time, "this is fine." They pulled their bags out of the car and entered their room after Carol came back from the office with their room key. Sam sat at the end of his bed looking at the blank screen of the turned off TV while Carol took a shower. He'd made his decision.

Carol came out dressed in a small shirt and boxer set of sleeping clothes, "I'm pretty sure I saved you some hot water." She smiled lightly, "not that the motel shouldn't have plenty." She went over to her bed, tossing her clothes onto her bag. "I want you to take me back tomorrow."

"What?" Carol sat down on her bed looking anxiously at Sam. "Take you back where?" Sam glanced over at her with solemn eyes, "I want you to take me back to Karen's." Sam was surprised when Carol stood up, "what? Why?" She moved around to stand in front of Sam as he remained seated on the edge of his bed, "I thought you wanted to go back to school, to get away from this life?" Sam stood up and looked down at her, "if you go back to Karen and I'm not with you, how long before those goons show up?" Carol just lowered her head, not sure what to say. She took Sam's hand, "I think you can do whatever you put your mind to it. Even if it's keeping away from those goons." She put Sam's hand on her shoulder and stepped closer to him. She could feel his nervous energy and his urge to step away, so she stopped and just looked up at him, "I'll stay with you as long as you want and leave any time you ask." Sam smiled lightly, "I would just be putting more people in danger if I went back to school." He took a deep breath and his shoulders sagged, "tomorrow we'll head back to Karen's place and see what it is she wants me to do." Carol still had one hand on Sam's where it rested on her shoulder, and she put the other hand on his chest lightly. She could feel his warm skin through his shirt and the resignation in his mind.

The door to the motel burst open as the two men they'd lost earlier came through the door. Carol turned and advanced towards them keeping herself between them and Sam protectively. Sam just watched as she tried to talk to them. "What the hell are you doing? I told you before that I'm watching him," before she could finish her sentence one of the men struck her across the face with the back of his fist, spinning her almost around and she crumpled to the floor and stopped moving. Sam advanced instinctively to try to protect her. He could fend off one of them, but as soon as one got a good shot in the two of them were able to take him down. After several blows to the mid-section and face, Sam lost consciousness and sunk into a dark, deep sleep.

Carol blinked her eyes slowly, focusing her vision on the blood staining her shirt. She took a deep breath and looked up at Karen. "Well," Karen snapped, "what's the verdict?" Carol stood up, "it's done. He's ready to come home. I need to be injured when he wakes up; a blow to the face, to my left cheek." Karen smiled evilly and happily obliged. Carol slowly picked herself up off the floor, blinking back the tears from the pain. She took a deep breath and glanced at Karen, "I should get changed." Karen just nodded and watched Carol walk from the room before turning back to Sam. She picked up the medical supplies that had been keeping him unconscious for the past two days.

---

Sam began to stir lightly. He could feel something cold touching him gently around his eye and forehead. He struggled to open his eyes and realized that his right one was swollen almost shut, again. Carol's voice whispered softly, "hey there. I was getting a little worried about you. You've been asleep for a couple of days." Sam frowned and turned his head towards her. Her cheek was red and swollen slightly, a couple of stitches mended the cut that marred her cheek. He lifted his hand slowly and lightly touched her face. She winced a little but grabbed his hand as he pulled it away, "it's ok." She smiled mischievously, "I look better than you do," she winked and let go of his hand. Sam chuckled lightly and cringed as his ribs ached.

She reached over and grabbed a glass of water, "thirsty?" Sam nodded and tried to sit up a little as he sipped at it. He looked around the room and realized that he was back at the house. The door was open and he could see down the hallway to where the stairs were. No one was there. Carol noticed him looking around, "most everyone is outside or downstairs." She put the towel in a small bowl of water and wrung it out before brining it back to his forehead. He stayed propped up on his elbows and closed his eye, letting her gently touch his wounds again. Her touch was much softer than the first time he met her this way. He remembered she was angry about him not wanting to be here and he felt strange that now she was … something else, he couldn't quite decide what to think about her.

"Are you hungry or ready to try to get out of bed?" Carol got up and moved the table with the water bowl out of the way. "How 'bout I go downstairs and fix something for you to eat. I could use a little something myself." Sam grabbed her by the forearm and stopped her. She stopped and looked at him with a light smile on her face, "what's wrong? Are you not hungry?" Sam smiled through slightly swollen lips and let go of her arm, "yeah, that sounds good." He lay back on his pillow and closed his eyes. "Ok, I'll be back in a few minutes, you rest." He listened as she left the room and walked down the hall then down the stairs.

---

For several days Sam stayed in the room letting Carol take care of him. He was able to move around better now and as Carol came in with breakfast he decided that he'd get out of the room today. She's stayed with him most of the time, only leaving when he would lie down to sleep or was called away by Karen. She brought the tray of food in and set it up on the table as Sam slowly drug himself out of the bed. They sat next to each other as they ate quietly. She poured him another glass of juice, "you're quiet this morning. Are you feeling any better?" Sam smiled, "yeah. I was thinking about going outside today. I'm getting cabin fever I think." She returned his smile and brushed his hair lightly away from his eyes, "I like walking in the woods and there's a small creek that runs through the property on the other side of the barn."

They finished eating. Carol pointed over to a dresser, "I explained to Karen that she didn't have to hurt you any more and that you had decided to come home. So she had me go buy you some clothes. I also told her that the brutes did this for no reason. Once I told her what they did she stormed out of here. I haven't seen those two guys since." Sam smirked lightly as he stood and walked over to the dresser. He went through eat drawer and was impressed with the items she'd picked out. He felt her close to him and turned to find her standing next to him. She put a hand on his lower back as she looked into the drawer he had opened, "do you like them? I tried to buy things that were the same style as you've been wearing." He put his arm around her shoulder and lightly touched her cheek with his other hand, "they're fine. Thank you."

Carol smile and moved away from him. She gathered the dishes up, "I'll let you get dressed." She turned and headed out the door, "see you downstairs?" Sam nodded and closed the door behind her.

Once dressed, Sam went downstairs. He could hear water running and followed the sound to the kitchen where Carol was washing the breakfast dishes. He looked out the window towards the garden and barn. He could see a group of people working in the garden and moving in and out of the barn. The water turned off and Carol turned around, noticing him standing behind her, "well hello there. You ready for your walk outside." Sam nodded, still looking out the window. She walked to stand next to him and pointed out towards the barn, "if you want to walk by the creek, just go straight out past the right side of the barn. You'll hear it and should be able to find it easy." She pointed to her right, "through the woods on this side will take you over to Karen's house. The property is pretty big. You'll know when you reached the edge of the property by the barbed-wire fencing." She looked back at Sam, "I haven't met any of the neighbors, but I'm sure some exist somewhere on the other sides." She smiled and shrugged.

Sam walked towards the kitchen door that led outside. As he opened the door he realized that Carol was still standing back where they had been talking. He turned towards her questioningly. She smiled back, "be careful, you're still a little beat up." He raised his eyebrows, "you're not going with me?" She suddenly brightened and her smile got bigger, "do you want me to walk with you?" Sam looked outside again and thought about it for a second before turning back to her, "Yeah, I do." Her eyes brightened as she left the house and took Sam's arm as they headed for the barn.

Sam could feel the eyes of the other people on him as they walked past the garden. Once they reached the barn, Sam could hear grunts and thumping. He hesitated as he listened and Carol said, "They're working out. They've got punching bags, weight lifting benches, ropes that reach the upper rafters and such in there to keep in shape. Want to go in?" Sam shook his head and smiled down at her, "maybe later." Sam was still a little sore, but they walked casually through the woods until they reached the creek. It was just as Carol had described; nothing major, but quiet and peaceful. There was a fallen tree on the other side, so they carefully jumped the creek and took a seat on it. Carol held on to his hand and leaned into him as they watched the later go by.

---

Missouri escorted her customer to the door and bid her farewell. As she turned to go back to the kitchen for a cup of coffee she brushed her hand across the T-shirt that Dean had given her. It belonged to Sam and she had folded it neatly and set it on the bookshelf where she could pass her hand over it each time she walked to and from the door or kitchen. This time she sensed something and stopped. "Come on Sam, reach out to me boy. I know you can do it."

---

They sat by the water for a long time. Sam's mind wandered from his current situation to past events. He missed Dean and his Dad. He glanced down at Carol where her head was resting on his chest just under his shoulder. He had his arm wrapped around her shoulders and she didn't appear to be reacting at all to his thoughts. "_Maybe she's keeping her promise,_" he thought to himself. He looked back to the creek and let his mind wander again. He thought about Sarah and then Jess. Missouri's voice popped into his head and he remembered how she tried to comfort him during his last visit with Carol. He missed her since she was the last friend he really had left, except for Bobby. He thought about their adventure in his old house and his mom.

---

Missouri stood there for a long time. She could feel Sam's sorrow and her heart broke. She could hear the light gurgle of water and a pulling sensation to the east. "That's it Sam, that's it honey, tell me where you are."

After a while longer Missouri quickly left the bookshelf and grabbed the phone. Dialing the number she didn't have to wait long before she received the greeting. "Dean? This is Missouri." Dean's voice was haggard and tired. She knew that he was still filled with sorrow as well as a touch of hope, "please tell me you have some good news." Missouri didn't want to disappoint him if she was wrong, but she had to tell him what she knew. She related the things she'd felt and what had come to her mind as she'd stood by his shirt. Finally she said, "Pack up; we're going to Richmond, Ohio."

---

The day passed quietly. Sam and Carol returned to the house where she explained the herb garden that they used for making various poisons and hallucinogens. While looking out the window she pointed out each of the individuals they could see and gave Sam their names and abilities. Most of them were the spoon benders that were raised in abusive relative or foster homes. They were good for brute work according to Karen. There were a couple of others like Carol, who could sense emotions and pick up on thoughts. One teenage boy she pointed out had a dream vision once, but the ability hadn't repeated yet. Carol explained how the non-brutes were taught various skills to put them in positions that would be beneficial to Karen like government and medical fields.

As evening came Carol began cleaning up with a few others and told Sam to go on to bed. He was resting but staring at the ceiling when he heard the commotion. At first it was just angry voices, and then he heard the distinctive sound of someone being struck. He'd heard as well as felt it enough to know that sound. He quietly left the bed and headed down the hallway, stopping before he reached the stairwell and listened. Karen's voice was angry, "if he's well enough to walk in the woods, then he's well enough to start working with the others. I will not have you screw this up with your infatuation. You're his sitter not his girlfriend." Carol's voice was submissive, "I just thought you should know that he wanted to go to school to be a lawyer and could help you there." Karen's snapped back, "I don't need you telling me what to do or how to use the people under my watch. Do I make myself clear?" Carol must have nodded because Sam didn't hear a response. A few steps were heard before the front door to the house was opened and closed roughly.

He stepped away from the wall to stand in front of the top step as Carol began climbing them slowly; her head lowered watching her feet. As she neared the top of the stairs she noticed Sam standing there, wearing his boxers and a T-shirt. She couldn't help herself as she examined him that she blushed and turned her gaze back to the floor. She'd raised her head enough that Sam noticed the red mark on her cheek just under her eye that must have been where Karen hit her. Sam took her hand and led her to his room, directing her to sit on the bed, "wait here a second." Sam went back down the hallway to the bathroom and ran some cold water over a wash cloth before taking it back to his room.

Carol sat on the bed looking down at her hands when Sam came back and sat down beside her. He gently placed the cool cloth against her cheek, "this should help a little bit," he said softly. Carol leaned her head into his touch and closed her eyes. Sam bent down, kissing her lightly on the forehead, "you going to be ok?" Carol raised her head and smiled lightly. Sam bent again, this time kissing her lightly on the lips. She returned the kiss and reached up cupping the back of his neck lightly with her hand while her fingers wrapped themselves in his hair. Sam dropped the wash cloth and placed his hand against her jaw while wrapping his other arm around her shoulder.

---

Sam woke as the bed shifted slightly and the covers moved causing cool air to brush his skin where Carol's warm body had been. He opened his eyes as she slipped out of the bed and picked up her clothes. She smiled as she looked back and noticed his eyes opened. "I'll be back with breakfast in a little bit," she whispered as she picked up the rest of her clothes and headed out the door. Sam got up and stepped lightly down the hallway to the bathroom and showered. By the time he came out, Carol was already in his room with breakfast set up.

As Carol gathered the dishes, Sam followed her downstairs and helped to clean them. Once they were done he went to the kitchen door that led outside, "I guess you better introduce me to everyone and let's get started with whatever I'm suppose to be doing." He smiled back at Carol who returned the smile and nodded, "sounds good. Let's go to the tent and tables." She pointed to where three people sat around a table under the wall-less tent.


	20. To Rescue Sam

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it._

---

As the left the house Sam looked towards the driveway to several people packing cars and leaving. "Where are they going?" he asked Carol. She glanced over towards them and wave to a few of them has they got in their cars, "they're going home. It's not like we all live here year round." She smiled at him and looped her arm in his as she led him towards the tent again, "think of this as a vacation or a conference. We come out here for a week or two through out the year. Catch up, receive instructions, spar, or what ever. Most everyone has a life outside of this place." She turned Sam to watch a car leave the drive, "for example, that's Marc leaving. He's a school counselor and helps put middle and high school kids on the path and provides basic instructions on how to not get caught." Sam shivered and frowned. Carol looked at him and decided she wouldn't say any more. It had taken her long enough to get him to stay, she didn't want to say anything that might start making him doubt his decision or change his mind all together. She waited until she felt him relax a little, then smiled and began walking him towards the tent again. He smiled lightly in return, but she could tell he was still hesitant.

As they reached the tent, Sam tried to smile. Carol introduced the young boy, who was probably in his late teens, as Perry and had the visions ability like Sam. She then introduced the two ladies, Marcia was probably in her late 30's and could sense emotions like Carol or Missouri, and Patricia was probably in her mid to late 20's and was a spoon bender.

Sam sat next to Carol, who kept her arm locked in his trying to reassure him. Perry shook Sam's hand with the introduction and once Sam was seated tried to start a conversation, "so what can you do Sam?" Again, Sam tried to smile but just didn't feel like it was coming across as anything but forced, "I have dreams, visions." Perry nodded his head, "excellent! Maybe I can help you out with that some time. I'm heading home in a couple of days, but I'll do what I can while I'm here." Sam frowned lightly, "what do you mean by help me?"

Perry smiled too brightly and a shiver went up Sam's spine, "help you focus of course. When I'm given a request, say for example the other day when this murder trial was going on, Karen gave me the task to determine the outcome." Perry's face beamed in delight, "I was able to tell her which juror was going to convince the others about the one piece of doubtful evident that convicted the man. Karen was able to take it from there and the guy was acquitted." Another shiver and Sam's stomach clenched as he tried to smile. Carol squeezed his arm in reassurance and Marcia just watched him intently.

"Stop that!" Sam snapped at Marcia when he noticed her gaze. He recognized it from the way Carol use to look at him before her promise. Marcia just smirked and her eyes narrowed, "make me boy." Sam scowled and tensed, but Carol gripped him with both hands and snipped at Marcia, "he's new, leave him be." Marcia turned her gaze on Carol and started to say something smart but suddenly stopped. Sam looked back and forth between the two and watched as Marcia became tenser and tenser to the point of almost being terrified of Carol. Finally Carol hissed, "you will leave him be or Karen will learn of your actions." Sam frowned and looked questioningly to Carol. She just turned and smiled at him, "I want you to feel at home Sam. So does Karen and everyone else." She glared at Marcia again, "and everyone will make him feel at home and help him to adjust to his new life." Marcia just nodded quickly and dropped her eyes to the drink in front of her.

---

Missouri met John and Dean in the parking lot by the car shortly after sunrise. She could feel how anxious they were to hear any good news she may have to offer them. She smiled lightly, "nothing new, but he hasn't moved." Dean frowned, "Hasn't moved, is something wrong with him?" Missouri raised a hand, "calm down Dean. I mean what I said. He's still in the same location and feeling the same sense of sorrow and defeat." She could feel the emotions that Dean was so desperately trying to hide. She tried to help him gain determination, "He's been away from you for too long Dean and he's missing your strength. So how 'bout we bring him home?"

There was still a lot of daylight left when they arrived in Richmond. John picked a motel and got a couple of rooms. They put all their bags into the rooms, and then John and Dean got the final information on Sam's location from Missouri and left her at the motel. She wished them well and told them to be careful as she stood by her door watching them pull out of the parking lot.

---

Sam spent most of the day outside with Perry, Marcia, Patricia, and Carol. Most of that time was listening to them talk about the various things they did for Karen. Patricia and Carol eventually went into the house and returned with lunch. He was beginning to feel a little more comfortable with them, but was still concerned about what they do and what might be requested of him. Some of their stories were actually funny and he noticed that Carol seemed more and more pleased as he laughed with them.

It was middle of the afternoon, as the sun began reaching the tops of the trees and casting shadows across the open field between the house and barn. Perry suddenly gripped the tabled, closing his eyes tightly, and breathing through the pain. Sam recognized it immediately and tried to help him by holding onto his shoulder like Dean would do for him. Carol and Marcia became silent, watching Perry intently while Patricia ran to the cooler and put ice in a towel for him.

When Perry finally looked up, his brow was wet with perspiration and he spoke directly to Carol, "two hunters are coming here to kill us." Marcia frowned, "kill us? What kind of hunters are we talking about?" Perry glanced at her, "they just like the other hunters, human, but they're coming with real guns and intend to do real damage." Marcia stood up quickly, "we need to get Karen, we've seen hunters before but they've never threatened to kill us … we're human too!" Carol scowled at the panic that was rising in Marcia's voice and snapped at her, "Well then run off to Karen and let her know what Perry saw."

Sam stood up, "maybe we can talk to them? I mean if they're people, can't we talk to them?" Carol and Perry exchanged glances as Patricia placed the cold cloth on Perry's forehead, then Perry said, "they didn't try to talk, they just came from the woods shooting without warning." Carol interrupted, "except now we've gotten our warning and we're going to make sure they don't catch us by surprise."

---

Carol took Sam's arm, "let's get to the house and get ready. Perry, how much time do we have?" Perry shook his head and started looking around at the sun and shadows, "not much time, maybe half an hour?" They headed for the house quickly, Sam having to slow his strides to keep from outrunning them. "Do we have weapons in the house?" Sam asked as reached about half way from the tent to the door of the house. Carol stopped moving, "nothing. We've never needed them. Usually there are several people with telekinesis here that can take care of everything, but most of them have gone home now. Patricia is the only one here right now." They turned towards her with hopeful glances. She was nervous, but nodded, "I'll do what I can when they arrive. Maybe Karen will get here before them."

Perry took in a sharp breath, "I don't think so." He pointed towards the tree line where they had been just a moment or two before, "they're here. I remember that." They looked up to see a brown rabbit run frantically out of the woods, past the tent, and then turn to run towards the barn. "They scared it out of its hiding place." Carol hissed at him, "You said we had half an hour!" Perry just shrugged, "I made a guess based on the sun's position and shadows. I'm not a freaking astrologer!"

"The barn," Carol suddenly said, "we need to get to the barn, there are training items in there that might be usable." Sam frowned down at her as she grabbed his hand and started pulling him in the direction of the barn, "You might have recommended that before we ran to the opposite side of the field you know." Carol frowned back, but then smirked, "I can't think of everything all the time, you come up with something hunter." Perry and Patricia looked between him and her gaping before Patricia finally whispered, "Hunter? He's one of them?" Carol put two fingers up to her lips and shushed Patricia, "not any more. Now he's with us." She turned back to Sam, "any ideas?"

---

John parked the truck a ways down the road and drove into the woods as best as he could without hitting any trees. When he believed they were hidden well enough, he stopped the truck and turned off the engine. He and Dean jumped out and readied their weapons. John nodded towards the creek running by, "we'll follow the creek up until we reach the house that Missouri told us about." Dean nodded and followed his dad through the woods.

They moved quickly until they reached a certain distance to the target location, then slowed down and started moving more quietly. They snuck towards the building they could see ahead and followed the creek as it made a wide curve away from the house, but started to loop back towards the property. As they moved Dean stepped too close to a bush and it scare a rabbit. Dean almost jumped out of his skin but shook his head in amusement as the rabbit ran towards the field.

---

They continued to run towards the barn, Sam trying to stay between Carol and the woods instinctively to protect her. Carol could feel their thoughts and a terror swept over her as she suddenly realize who they were. Her mind raced and then she focused her abilities on Sam.

John noticed them first, running through the field. He stopped and watched as the group became visible through the trees every second or two. When John stopped, Dean immediately did the same and followed his gaze. He couldn't help himself when he saw Sam running towards the barn with the group. He jumped up before his father could stop him and ran for the clearing. John cursed beneath his breath, but followed his oldest in hopes of saving his youngest.

Sam heard someone coming through the woods and glanced over as a man neared the tree line. "Patricia, they're coming can you do anything until we get to the barn." Patricia was running slightly behind them, "not unless I stop completely and concentrate." Sam shook his head, "no, keep running … go, go, go."

"Sam! Sammy!" Sam almost tripped as he tried to come to a stop too quickly. He turned around, the voice had sounded so familiar and to be called 'Sammy' like that, he had to stop. But the people he was facing as they came past the tree line into the field area did not look like anyone he'd ever met before. Carol had stopped too, and Sam began to panic remembering what Perry had said about the hunters and what they were going to do to them, but this hunter knew who he was. Carol tugged on his arm, "Sam, run! Don't let them trick you!" Her fear snapped his attention around to her and he allowed her to start dragging him towards the barn again. As he heard his named called again he glanced back and saw for the first time the guns that both men were carrying.

The hunters were racing to catch up. Patricia had reached the barn with Perry and stood at the door. As Sam and Carol reached the door she concentrated on the younger man racing towards them. She picked him up and threw him back into the older man, satisfied with the grunts of pain she heard and the time she'd helped gain for everyone. They all entered the barn and began barring the doors. Sam and Carol started looking for anything that could be used as weapons. There were sparring sticks and punching bags as well as ropes that were tied to the rafters above to be climbed up from the ground.

Sam could still hear the two men outside calling his name, banging on the door, and cursing about wanting to know what was wrong with him. Sam looked over at Carol and the fear in her eyes concerned him, "what's wrong Carol?" She gave him frown, so he clarified, "I mean besides the obvious problem we're in. Something else is bothering you because you weren't this worried before they showed up." She shook her head, "it's just their emotions, the hate for us that they're feeling … I'm scared." Sam pulled her into a hug, "I'm not going to let them hurt you." Carol pressed her cheek to his chest and as he lightly kissed the top of her head, she smiled wickedly.

They couldn't kick in the main barn doors, but the side door was nothing more than a regular door with regular locks and John easily kicked it in. Perry had one of the sparring sticks in his hand and tried to attack John. Unfortunately, the boy wasn't very trained and was no match for John's skill or strength. Patricia helped Perry by pushing John back into the barn wall. Unfortunately her ability wasn't strong enough to hold him there. Perry continue to strike at John while Patricia used her ability to slow his blocks, allowing Perry to get in a hit or two.

Dean moved past John as they entered and headed straight for Sam. He had to know what the hell was going on with the baby brother and why he wouldn't acknowledge him. He found Sam near the middle of the barn standing in front of a woman defensively with a stick in each hand. "Sam? What's wrong with you?" Dean had his weapon out still and when he realized that Sam was keeping an eye on the gun as well as him, he held his hands out, "come on Sammy, you know I'd never hurt you."

Sam continued to step backwards, trying not to trip Carol, but she seemed to be doing an excellent job at staying one or two steps back but always keeping Sam between her and the stranger. This man kept talking to him like they should know each other but he couldn't remember his face at all, "who the hell are you? How do you know me?" A confused look crossed over Dean's face, "I'm your brother, Dean, who the hell do you think I am?" Sam just snarled back, "my brother is dead and I've never seen you before in my life." Sam didn't hesitate and didn't care about the shocked look on the man's face; he just used the opportunity to attack.

The words cut Dean like a knife, how could Sam not recognize him and to believe that he was dead was even worse. Dean could only imagine what they had done to him to make him believe such a thing. He didn't have time to ponder it long as Sam began attacking him by first disarming him. Not that Dean ever had any intention of using the gun on his brother, but Sam surprised him with his quickness, or maybe it was his ferociousness. Sam had the weapons and Dean was trying to fight with just his fists, but Sam was never big on hand-to-hand combat. He had to take a few hits and knew a rib or two was cracked, but he managed to get one of the sticks from Sam.

Sam rolled away from the hunter and cringed in pain. He'd lost one of his weapons to the guy, but at least he didn't have his gun anymore. Sam was panting and still trying to stay between Carol and the hunter, who was a damn good fighter. Fear was starting to win out over his determination to protect Carol, this guy was beating him and he knew it. At the same time, confusion over how the hunter knew his name and kept trying to talk to him, "come on Sammy, snap out of it. I don't know what they've been doing to you all this time, but it's going to be ok. We're here to take you home."

Sam didn't really understand why he'd said it, "I'm already home," even though he didn't feel that way. A gunshot sounded and made Sam almost jump completely out of his skin. The first place he looked was behind him to Carol, but she was still watching him intently and didn't appear injured. He turned back around and saw Patricia fall to the ground screaming and holding her leg. Carol and Perry had been right; the hunters were here to kill them. Sam began attacking the hunter in front of him with a new fever, he had to protect Carol but he also had to get to this hunters gun in order to stop them both.

John couldn't take it any more, he was trying to fight the boy without hurting him too much, but the girl was pissing him off. Either she was a weak demon or a strong telekinetic. It didn't matter; he had to make her stop. He dodged a blow from the boy and grabbed his secondary gun, taking quick aim and shooting her in the leg. When she went down screaming everyone in the barn stood still for a second, taking in the event. Then John watched as Sam's features twisted into a desperate rage and he attacked Dean again. "Sammy! What are you doing?" John's voice apparently didn't have any more effect on Sam than Dean's had. It only took John a couple more tries before the boy went down and didn't get back up. Now he had to stop his son. As he turned to help Dean he noticed the woman standing behind Sam. She wasn't watching anyone else; her eyes were fixed on Sam. He knew something was going on with her, and he intended to stop it.

Sam was losing and he knew it. This hunter was just a little bit better than him. Even though he was able to put in his fair share of hits, he was taking as many or more. He staggered back to regain his footing, just as he'd done several times without the hunter taking advantage of it, and this confused him even more. However, this time, when he stepped back he saw the older hunter raise his gun, aiming it at Carol. Sam did what his instincts told him to do, protect her, and as the older hunter pulled the trigger, Sam stepped in front of it yelling, "No!" Fire burned through his chest as he crumpled to the ground. He could hear the sounds of the two hunters yelling too as they rushed up to where he was now laying on his back. He looked up at Carol, "I'm sorry." Carol started to kneel beside him but the older hunter came up and punched her in the face, knocking her down. She crumpled to the floor and didn't move.

In anger Sam turned to face the hunters in one last fight … only this time he saw Dean and John. Confusion swept over him, as they knelt beside him, the room spun and then everything went dark.


	21. Off to Safety

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it._

---

"Sammy! No!" Dean yelled as he ran up to Sam's prone form on the ground. He heard Sam apologize to the woman as he tore off his jacket and shirt, leaving only his T-shirt on, and tried to stop the flow of blood coming from Sam's upper left chest.

"Oh God! No!" John rushed towards Sam and in a rage hit the woman as hard as he could when she tried to get to Sammy's side. "Oh Sammy, I'm so sorry. Sammy?" Sam face twisted into anger and rage as he turned to face Dean and John. His look shocked both of them until Sam's eyes actually looked at them and a flash of recognition swept over his features. It was replaced by confusion for only a second before his face completely relaxed, his eyes closed, and his head turned slightly to the side.

"No!" Dean yelled again as he pressed his shirt against the wound, "Sam! Wake up Sam!" John took Dean's jacket and wrapped it around Sam's chest, tying the sleeves at his back as best he could so that it squeezed tightly against Dean's hands. "We have to get out of here Dean, now." They both looked around the barn, there was not going to be an easy way to get back to the truck.

Something caught Dean's eye; he removed his hands making sure the jacket was still keeping the shirt tight against the wound, and then ran to the side of the barn, throwing back a tarp revealing a 4-wheeler. His eyes brightened as he turned to see his dad already picking up Sam under the arms and dragging him towards the vehicle. Dean got on and started the engine as John maneuvered Sam onto it, "_Thank God they left they key in it,_" Dean thought to himself. "Hold on Dean," John ran over to where some loose rope was rolled and brought it back, wrapping it lightly around Sam and Dean. John nodded, "get him to the truck as fast as you can, be careful. I'll be right behind you." Dean didn't have to be told twice, he hit the gas and sped out of the barn as John opened the main doors. He glanced back just before he hit the tree line to verify that his father was following, then returned his attention to getting out of there once he saw John was running towards the tree line himself.

John raced after the four-wheeler glancing back towards the field when he heard yelling. A group of people were coming through the trees on the far side heading towards the house at a run. John didn't hesitate and just kept up his pace following the creek towards the truck praying that the people near the house didn't hear the four-wheeler speeding through the woods.

By the time John arrived to the truck, Dean was just finishing up his struggle to get Sam's tall lanky frame up into the high vehicle. John jumped into the driver's seat as Dean situated himself in the passenger seat with Sam in the middle leaning into Dean, who was doing his best to keep the pressure on the wound. Sam's body shook as he coughed and Dean noticed a light splatter of blood on his lips. "Hurry Dad, I think it hit his lungs," Dean's eye watered as he clenched his teeth in an effort to hold his emotions at bay. For so long they searched and then buried Sam, now to find him alive only to have his shot and dying in his arms. It was almost too much for Dean to bear. But right now, Sam was alive and with him and he was going to make damn sure he stayed that way. John drove as fast as he could through the trees and then floored it as soon as he reached the main road forcing the truck to go as fast it was mechanically possible to the nearest hospital.

Dean tried to get Sam to wake up and open his eyes. At one point Sam's eyes fluttered lightly and look straight into Dean's. "That's it Sammy, stay with me now," Dean kept his eyes on Sam's and noticed the confused expression on his face. It took him a minute of coughing and swallowing before he lightly whispered, "you're dead … I saw your graves." Dean shook his head, "no man, we've been trying to find you. I'll kill those bastards for what they've done to you I swear, but right now you gotta hang on ok?" Sam gave him a light smile, but his eyes closed and his head lolled to the side. Dean tried to get him to wake up again, but it was no use. Dean was at least minutely relieved that when he check, Sam's pulse and breathing were still there, but weakening.

The truck screeched around the corners and growled as more pressure was put on the gas pedal until they finally reached the emergency room entrance. Dean kept his hold on Sam as John ran into the hospital yelling for someone to come help him. A couple of nurses and a doctor ran out with a gurney to the truck and helped Dean get Sam onto it. They quickly strapped Sam down and rushed him into the hospital. They refused to let Dean follow and John grabbed his arm telling him to wait, that they would take care of him. John then pulled out an FBI badge and pulled the nurse to the side, "I need to make this perfectly clear to you and you need to make sure anyone responsible for that boy understands the consequences they may face. That boy is a VIP beyond your understanding. He is to be put in records under a false name that I will give you. I am to personally interview anyone who has contact or might need contact with him. No one that doesn't directly have to have any visual or physical contact with that boy is get anywhere near him. Do I make myself perfectly clear? It could mean his life and ours."

The nurse paled slightly, but nodded her head quickly and ran to the desk for some papers. She handed them to John, "here's the admittance paper work, just put down the name we're suppose to use and I'll make sure the doctor's and nurses that are working on him now understand." John nodded, "now, my partner and I need a place to hide. We cannot be seen here in case the individuals that have done this to him come looking. You cannot put on his records that it was a gunshot wound and you cannot talk to anyone about is condition other than me or him," he pointed towards Dean, who was pacing furiously in the waiting area. The nursed gave him instruction to a private counseling and conference office on the second floor, "I'll make sure they know that information as well."

Confident that the nurse would do as he asked, John returned to Dean and told him to follow. Dean hesitated for a second and John frowned. _Damn this boy has gotten defiant more and more since Sam rejoined him._ He smiled lightly knowing that it was a good thing that Dean was so protective of his baby brother, but right now they had to get out of sight. "Dean, we've got to up to this conference room and stay out of sight in case someone comes looking for him. They are only going to talk to us and they're going to put him in the records for something other than a gun shot wound. Now come on." John watched as Dean's expression didn't change much, but he did nod and followed, which was good enough as far as John was concerned.

---

They'd been waiting in the conference room for hours pacing and hitting the table with their fists in frustration. The nurse had come by a couple of times to let them know that John's instructions were being followed to the letter and to reassure them that no one unfamiliar had asked anything. That only made them feel a little better, but at least it was something. They'd found Sam and rescued him, now they had to keep him safe.

Eventually a stocky man with a doctor's coat knocked and entered the room. John and Dean both jumped up from their seats simultaneously asking how Sam was. The doctor sat them back down and went into details on how the bullet had hit his lung, broken a rib, and stopped after impacting and cracking the scapula, or shoulder blade. They were able to repair the damage remove any debris from bone and bullet fragments, but Sam was going to have to remain in the hospital for a while. The doctor assured them that he was in a private room by himself and all doctors and nurses had been counseled on his situation. Only require personnel would interact or be given any information about him.

At one point a nurse walked in to let them know Sam was being moved to his room and they could join him. She also asked whether or not a female brought in with a gunshot wound to the leg was part of their incursion. Dean tensed up but John raised his hand and told the nurse that she was part of the group that had hurt Sam and if the police were called, he was to have a meeting with the officer alone before anyone spoke about Sam. The nurse looked nervous, but nodded her head before leaving the conference room and taking them to Sam's private room.

Dean immediately took up a position next to Sam, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest and the jumping line on the heart monitor. John sat on the other side of the room where he could see anyone who entered but still keep an eye on Sam at the same time. After a while the nurse returned and led John back to the conference room where a deputy waited. John showed him his badge and the deputy introduced himself as Deputy Williams. John provided him only the information he believed the deputy required to keep him away from Sam but investigating the woman and the location where'd they'd found Sam. When they finished talking the deputy assured John that they would do everything they could to protect Sam and get those that had harmed him. As John watched Williams leave a knot began to form in his stomach telling him that something wasn't right.

John inquired with the doctor on the soonest that Sam could be moved out of the hospital, then insisted that he be moved within the hospital to keep his whereabouts hidden from those that already knew, but no longer were required to help with his care. The doctor frowned and tried to assure John that everything was secure, but agreed after John pressed the issue.

It was later that evening when Sam finally woke to find Dean and his father leaning over him. At first he began to panic, unsure of where he was or why his two dead family members were apparently haunting him. He tried to bring his hands up to his eyes but he couldn't move his arms. His eyes were closed but he could hear Dean's voice, "Sammy? Sammy? Look at me Sammy, calm down and look at me." Sam tried to calm himself, he could hear the fast beeping of the machine near him, and he took a few deep shaky breaths. His mind raced trying to remember the last events: talking with the Perry, Marcia, Patricia, and Carol … and then Perry had a vision of hunters coming to kill them. They'd run for the barn, the hunters giving chase, Patricia was shot, he had been fighting a man that he'd never seen before with dark skin and goatee, but then he was shot … Carol was punched … then Dean was looking down on him … Dean, his dead brother, was looking down at him … was he dead too now?

He was afraid to open his eyes. He took several deep breaths while Dean's voice continued to speak, "that's it Sammy, it's ok now." Sam finally took one last deep breath and whispered, "You're dead Dean. You and dad are dead. I saw your graves, I talked to Missouri." He swallowed and this surreal thought passed through his mind, "are you here for me?" The corners of John's mouth tugged lightly as he suppressed the smile but Dean laughed a little, "yeah, you could say that Sammy. We're here for you alright. But we aren't dead man. I swear we aren't dead." Both Dean and John relaxed a little and let go of Sammy's arms.

Sam finally opened his eyes and stared intently into Dean's, tears that had been threatening to fall began to openly drop from his eyes and down his cheeks. "Dean? Is it really you?" Dean smiled down at him and nodded, "you wont believe what we've been going through trying to find you, dude. But we found you and we got you back." John put his hand on his son's good shoulder and smiled, "you're going to be ok kiddo. You need to rest and get your strength so we can get out of here soon." Sam just nodded and turned back to Dean suddenly frowning.

"What's wrong Sam?" Dean studied Sam's expression.

"If you're not dead, then how did I travel to Lawrence to see Missouri and your graves? How do I know that I'm imagining all this now?" Sam's pulse began to quickly slightly and he tried to keep his breathing under control as the fear began to swell in his chest. He began mumbling to himself, "I need to wake up, I need to wake up."

"Sammy! You are awake." Dean wanted to grab his shoulders firmly like he always did whenever Sam was losing focus, either during a vision or when he was real sick. But he couldn't with the wound.

"I must be hallucinating … I saw the hunter who shot Patricia and then shot me, and I saw the hunter who was fighting with me … They're going to kill us … I have to wake up and save them!" Sam was shouting now, gripping his long bangs with his fingers and pressing his hands into his eyes. The yelling attracted the attention of the nurse in the hallway, who ran into the room to check to see what was going on. John stiffened as she came in, but relaxed a little when he realized it was the nurse that was suppose to be taking care of Sam. She nodded at John and ran out of the room, returning shortly with a doctor carrying a needle.

John stopped the doctor before he could get anywhere near Sam. The doctor raised the needle, "it's a sedative to calm him down before he hurts himself." John frowned slightly, but stepped aside to let the doctor inject the medicine into the IV.

Dean was still trying to convince Sam that he wasn't dreaming and that he was safe when Sam slowly relaxed and fell into the drug induced sleep. Dean waited until the doctor had checked Sam's vitals and left the room before he turned to his dad, "what the hell did they do him there?" John just shook his head, "it had to be the woman I hit. I noticed she was staring at Sam the entire time we were fighting. I bet she was doing something to make him see us as different people."

They both waited anxiously as the hours passed by. As evening approached, John left to get him and Dean food, brining it back to the hospital room so neither of them were away from Sam for long. The shift change for the nurses came and the new woman entered the room cautiously, knocking lightly first. John and Dean both stood up defensively and the nurse waited by the door until John nodded a single time in affirmation that she could enter. She walked slowly up to them before even turning towards Sam, though she did glance towards him to see that he was still sleeping. She reached her hand out and shook both John's and Dean's as she introduced herself, "good evening, I'm the night shift nurse assigned to Sam. My name is Marcia."


	22. The Family's Whole Again

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. _

_I hope you have enjoyed reading this one as much as I enjoyed writing it!_

---

Under careful scrutiny, Marcia checked all of Sam's vitals and medications. Afterwards, she smiled and nodded to John and Dean before leaving the room. She continued her rounds and checked on her other patients. Once done, she returned to the nurse's station and picked up the phone. The other night shift nurses were still making their rounds.

The phone rang a few times before a voiced greeted her from the other end of the line. "This is Marcia. He's here and sedated. His father and brother are with him and are on guard."

"Sam has seen them?" Karen's voice was terse.

"Based on his chart, they sedated him after waking from his surgery. Apparently he became extremely agitated. It doesn't give details on the chart, but I'm willing to assume he was confused about his dead family standing around him," Marcia whispered into the phone.

"Find out for sure."

"I can't! If I stand there and concentrate they'll know I'm doing something."

"Do what you have to do to find out. If Sam has seen them it's going to be difficult to persuade him back."

Marcia sighed heavily, "I'll see what I can do." She hung up the phone and started working on paperwork as one of the other nurses joined her.

Dean remained in the seat next to Sam and John stayed on the small couch against the wall opposite the door. As the clock neared midnight, John stood up and checked the hallway to see if anyone was wondering around. He then quickly moved back over to Sam's bed and picked up his chart. Dean watched him with anticipation, he knew his father was about to do something.

After glancing over the chart, John nodded to himself then looked towards Dean, "get ready; we're getting out of here."

"What's wrong?" was Dean's only question as he began gathering their belongings.

"They know we're here. I would have left sooner, but I needed to make sure they believed we felt secure."

"How are we going to get Sam out of here in his condition?"

John smiled at Dean. A light chill ran up Dean's spine … he wasn't going to like this.

---

Marcia and the other nurses were at the station talking lightly as Dean approached. He flashed them his most charming smile and put on his best routine.

John listed the murmuring and waited until he heard the inevitable giggles as Dean charmed them. He slipped down the hall to where a wheelchair sat next to the wall and returned to Sam's room with it. He removed the IV and oxygen mask from Sam, verified the alarm was silent before removing the heart monitor. Then he gently moved Sam from the bed, cradling his large frame against him as he set him in the wheelchair.

After a short while, Dean returned to the room. "They're all still at the station, but are going to be making rounds soon." John nodded and they slowly wheeled Sam out of the room and down the hall away from the nurses. "How are we going to get out of here? We're on the third floor and the elevators are near the nurses?"

John just smiled as he neared the door to the stairs. "Oh you've got to be kidding me?" Dean huffed as he held the door open for his dad to push Sam through. It was slow going, but together they were able to carefully take one step at a time lowering Sam down to the first floor. Dean distracted the security guard as John quietly wheeled Sam out into the parking lot and to the truck.

Dean joined his dad at the truck and helped him lift Sam up into it. Once John started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot they both let out a sigh of relief that they had apparently gotten away without incident.

---

After the excitement calmed down Marcia picked up the phone. Her hand shook as she dialed the number.

"Yes?"

"Uh … there's been a problem … and …" Marcia swallowed hard and her mouth felt like it was full of cotton.

"Yes?" Karen's voice lowered and the tone changed to a threatening growl.

"They left the hospital. I … they snuck out somehow … I didn't see them leave the room … I don't know how they …"

"Shut up!" Karen cut her off. "Your watch, your fault." The line went dead as Karen hung up on the phone.

Marcia sat shaking as she heard the click and then the dial tone.

---

John and Dean carried Sam into the motel room as Missouri held the door open for them. Once they'd gotten him into the bed Missouri sat next to him and just held his hand. John and Dean stood back and watched with worried expressions as Missouri face changed from concern to pained and sad. She shuddered and they saw a tear run down her cheek.

Dean couldn't stand it anymore, "what? What's wrong? Missouri tell me…" John put a hand on Dean's shoulder to silence him.

Missouri just shook her head as she placed Sam's hand on his stomach and stood. "Dean, you stay here and keep an eye on your brother. You father and I need to talk." Dean started to protest, but the look from Missouri was enough to make him just huff before pulling up a chair next to the bed.

Missouri took John outside and tried to explain to him what she'd heard and felt in Sam. John stood and listened, his frown deepening as she recounted his feelings of complete loss and how he truly believed that John and Dean were dead.

"The woman. The one I hit did this to him. Sam didn't even recognize us and tried to fight us when we got there to get him. She was watching him the entire time, she never took her eyes off of him. Sam didn't know it was us until after I knocked her out."

Missouri just sighed, "we need to get Sam somewhere safe so we can start his healing. It's going to rough, though. At first, he's not going to know what's real."

John nodded, "first things first, in the morning, we're getting as far away from this town as possible."

---

Sam slowly became aware of his surroundings. He could hear the light breathing of someone near him and his first thoughts were of Carol. But his memory of the previous day's events came flooding back. He tried not to panic. He needed to maintain his senses and figure out what was going on. His hunter instincts kicked in and he let his ears and nose tell him what they could about his surroundings.

Someone was definitely sleeping near him, but not beside him in the bed. Movement of someone walking towards him made his heart race as he tried to remain relaxed and still. The smell around his was familiar, after staying in so many motels they tended to start smelling the same though some were smokier or stronger smells of mildew. But basically the same. A warm but calloused hand touched his forehead and he instinctively but lightly flinched. The hand moved and he felt that person presence remain near him.

The voice was unmistakable. He'd heard it all his life. "Sammy?" it was his dad's soft whisper, but the sound woke whoever had been sleeping nearby. He heard the movement and creaking of a chair as the second person stood, "is he awake?" It was definitely Dean's voice. Sam's heart raced as he slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times trying to get into focus. He was looking at his father. He turned his eyes as the second person gripped the edge of the bed and covers in barely controlled excitement. It was Dean. Sam's mind was beginning to spin and he felt nauseated.

"Back up and give your brother some air Dean," John huffed lightly as he stepped back himself. He stared down at Sam a second more before he walked to the other side of the room and started turning on lights. He then went to the sink and fixed a glass of ice and water before returning to the bed where he offered the glass to Sam.

Sam winced as he tried to sit up, pain shooting through his left arm and chest. The memories of the hunters and being shot caused his stomach to lurch again and he swallowed hard. As he shifted his weight and used his right arm to help him sit up, Dean grabbed the pillows he'd been using in the chair and put them behind Sam's back. John gave Sam the glass of water and he sipped is slowly. "_If this is a dream or hallucination, I need to be calm and see where it takes me,_" Sam kept telling himself.

Dean was now sitting in the chair next to the bed watching his brother with barely controlled excitement. He was worried that Sam might have another panic attack like he did in the hospital.

John took the water from Sam after he'd had a few drinks, and then picked up the sling he'd left on the small nightstand, "you better put this back on so you don't aggravate the injury."

Sam nodded a little and took the sling in his good hand. They'd had to use these many times when hunts didn't go quite as expected, so he easily slipped it on and over his head with experienced moves that kept him from hurting his already throbbing shoulder. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand it read 2:43 AM.

"So," Dean started but wasn't exactly sure what to say. As he struggled to keep himself from grabbing Sammy in a bear hug, he kept his hands on his knees and just watched his brother fix the sling and relax back into the pillows. He noticed Sam glance at the clock, "you've been out of it most of the day, with the injury and all."

Sam nodded. He remembered when he'd first woken up and freaked out like an inexperienced school boy. He silently chastised himself knowing his father was probably thinking the same thing. He'd seen plenty of ghosts in his time hunting, but seeing Dean and his dad while believing they were ghosts was just a little much.

"Hey, Sammy, are you hungry?" Dean asked as he tried to gage his brother's mental condition.

Sam looked over at him and studied his features in the poor motel room lighting. He could see the anxious clench of Dean's jaw and the worry in his eyes. It seemed real enough. But so had looking at their graves during his visit in Lawrence. His stomach started to turn a little again, so he shook his head no, turning to gaze down at his hands resting on his stomach.

"As soon as Missouri is awake in the morning, you three are heading back to Lawrence," John stated matter of fact as he started packing up some items.

Dean frowned and Sam looked up at him nervously. "What are you going to do, dad?" Dean asked as he turned in the chair to look in his dad's direction.

"I'm going to check out the house and police station to see if the cops did anything about those bastards." John's voice didn't change in pitch, but there was a definite growl that the boys could easily recognize when their dad was about to cause some serious pain to something he was hunting.

"You've got to be kidding me? You can't go near that house, not after what they did to Sammy." Dean stood up and faced his father. "If they can make Sammy believe we're dead," he glanced back at his little brother briefly before turning back towards John, "there's no telling what else they might be able to do."

Sam said nothing and just watched the exchange. Dean kept glancing at him as if he was expecting Sam to protest John's decision, but when Sam just sat there on the bed watching, Dean frowned, "Sammy? You know what they did to you, right? You know that they tricked you into believing we were dead, right?" Now both John and Dean were looking at Sam and he began to feel nervous. When he saw Dean shift and heard him inhale, about to barrage Sam with more questions, Sam whispered, "I don't know."

"You don't know? What do you mean you don't know?" Now Dean's frustration was turning away from John to Sam. "What's wrong with the both of you? We need to all get away from here before they find us. Even you Dad." Dean was trying desperately to maintain control over his emotions. His brother was not only alive but back with him; he was elated and felt complete, only now his dad wanted to go check up on an enemy that they really knew nothing about and his brother appeared lost or indifferent to the whole situation.

Dean's frustration was boiling up and he clenched his fist, "No," he said flatly turning to his father. "We are all leaving in the morning and we are getting the hell out of here." John raised an eyebrow at Dean and was prepared to protest when Sam stopped him, "I agree with Dean. We should go," he was speaking softly but both of the older Winchesters heard him loud and clear. "I need to see the cemetery again." John frowned, but after looked at both his boys he finally nodded, "ok, we all go home then."

Sam lay back down and drifted in and out of sleep for the next few hours. John left as the sun rose and brought back some of the continental breakfast from the front desk area. They dressed, ate silently, and packed up all their belongings. Shortly after, a light knock on the door brought Missouri into their room, already packed and ready to go.

Missouri rode in the truck with John after telling Dean that it would be good for Sam to be alone with him in the Impala just like they use to ride. Before getting into the vehicles, Missouri pulled Dean to the side and whispered, "be careful Dean, and light with your words. He's still a little unsure if this is real or a dream." Dean frowned and looked down at his feet taking a deep breath, "I'll try," he whispered as he looked back up at her, "are you sure you shouldn't ride with us so you can talk to him if he needs you?" Missouri smiled, "honey, you're the one person I think he needs above anyone else. I told you before, you're his strength. He knows he can count on you. He'll be fine; he just needs a little time."

It was a long ride and mostly quiet. As they got closer to Lawrence, Sam reached up and turned off the blaring ACDC. Dean scowled, "Hey! We're not going to start fighting about the music again are we?" Sam smiled a little, "no, I just wanted to ask you something." Dean raised an eyebrow, "ok, what?" Sam sat silently for a second as if he wasn't sure how to ask or if he wanted to know.

"What happened in New York?"

"Oh," Dean mumbled as he turned his gaze away from Sam back to the road. Dean thought for a few minutes, then figured it might help him to know everything, so he started from the point that Carl saved him from Ande. Dean explained his arrest and rescue by their dad, Sarah's coma, the searching for him, the hunting for explanations on his disappearance, the items found, and the funeral for him. The last piece caused a pained expression to cross Sam's features and made Dean's heart ache at the memory. "Don't you ever make me go through that again either, you hear me?" Dean chided playfully, but seriously as well.

"So, when we get the cemetery, I'm going to see my own grave?"

"Well," Dean thought for a second, "we'll get rid of that. We can't have both Winchester boys presumed dead you know," he grinned lightly.

Dean continued to recant the events that happened when Missouri called him and started actively trying to sense his location, and completed the story up to the fight in the barn.

"It's so weird. I swear I'd never seen those two hunters before in my entire life, but it was actually you and dad?"

"Yeah. I couldn't figure out why you were trying so hard to kick my butt knowing full well that you've never been able to and never will."

Sam hit him on the shoulder playfully and smiled.

---

They had driven through the day and night. All of them were exhausted and Missouri insisted that they stay over at her home. She made sure the spare rooms had clean linens and then retired for the remainder of the night. She recommended they all get some sleep before trying to go traipsing through the cemetery. John took one room while Sam and Dean shared the other.

It had only been a few hours when John knocked on their door and woke them up. "You need to come downstairs and read something.

The look on his face made the boys nervous so they quickly jumped up throwing jeans and shirts on. They found Missouri and their dad in the kitchen frowning. When they entered, Missouri quickly got up from the table and headed out of the kitchen. She paused momentarily to touch Sam lightly on the arm, "I'm sorry honey." Before Sam could ask why, she was heading down the hallway away from them. A knot began forming in Sam's stomach and Dean quickly walked over to his dad, "what's wrong? What is it?"

John turned the laptop towards them so they could read the article he had pulled up.

The headline read, "Tragic death of local nurse and unknown female shocks community." Sam swallowed hard, thoughts of Carol running through his mind. Dean started reading bits and pieces of the article out loud and Sam just sat down in the chair and listened.

"Local nurse, Marcia Valentine, was found dead in her home after an apparent electrical fire started in the kitchen. Cause of death is believed to be smoke inhalation. An unknown female staying with her at the time was also found dead, but it's suspect due to a gunshot wound found in her leg." Dean looked up at his dad and then at Sam. "A passing car saw the smoke and called authorities. The nearest neighboring house is vacant, so police are asking for help in identifying the unknown female."

---

Dean and Sam got a motel for several days. They walked the cemetery and Sam spoke with the authorities to clear up the mistake that he was in fact alive and well. He used the amnesia excuse that seems to work way too often, but was happy when they bought it. John had disappeared for several days and the boys were beginning to worry. He wasn't answering his phone as usual.

Sam was beginning to come to terms that this was not a dream, much to his relief, and that Carol obviously had the ability to manipulate his senses. He was just happy to back with his brother, even if he'd never actually say it to him.

Almost a week after they'd come home, John returned and met the boys at the motel room. Dean and Sam stood nervously waiting for the news he'd brought them. John's face was solemn and he took a deep breath before he spoke, "the farmhouse was burned almost completely. The other house was empty of everything. Even the barn was empty and the garden stripped. I can't find them. I'm sorry, they're gone."

Sam sat down on the edge of his bed and Dean just looked down at the floor, "so what now?" John looked at both of them, "we do what we do best. We hunt."

end 


End file.
